followHIM - Official Declarations 1 & 2 : Brother Ahmad S. Corbitt

Episode Date: December 5, 2021

Brother Corbitt returns to discuss Official Declarations 1 and 2 and his personal reflections as a black convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--an episode not to be missed!Show Notes (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): https://followhim.co/episodesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowHimOfficialChannelThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Executive ProducersDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: MarketingLisa Spice: Client Relations, Show Notes/TranscriptsJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Rough Video EditorAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsKrystal Roberts: French TranscriptsIgor Willians: Portuguese Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com/products/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise-pianoPlease rate and review the podcast.

Welcome to part two of this week's podcast. These official declarations are powerful. The fact that they were made part of scripture and inserted in the canon just shows, it really confirms and validates the revelatory nature of these revelations. You know, I was talking to my brother, who's a member of a stake presidency in the Chesterfield, Virginia stake, Jamil Corbett. And he was saying that he loves to respond to questions about the gospel with the articles of faith. And it's such a natural response. Oh, it even starts with we believe. So these are powerful tools and guides for us to not only live our lives as the

Savior would have us do, but to be able to share, as Peter said, to have a reason of the hope that is in us. In law school, we studied a case called Reynolds versus United States, and it was about polygamy and related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the practice of plural marriage. And it's a religious liberty case, one of the, sort of the first, the seminal case on religious liberty of the Supreme Court. And of course, just 11 years later, the Lord makes this revelation known to the prophet Wilford Woodruff, the fourth president of the church, and here it is, and we get to read it. It was moved by President Lorenzo Snow, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the president of the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the manifesto which has been read in our hearing and which is dated September 24th, 1890, and that as a church in general conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding, close quote. And the vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous. Well, and like we said, this is number nine. Do you believe that? Yeah. Yeah, and the same with the official declaration too. I joined the church two years after this. But I have kind of a personal story about this.

Actually, a couple of them. I was 15 years old. I was finishing my sophomore year. It was getting toward the summer, and I had this spiritual experience in the form of a dream that remains one of my most spiritual experiences ever in my life. And I got up the next morning, it was a Sunday, put on a nice shirt and some slacks, and felt like I was, I felt so summoned by the Lord that I walked to the nearest church, which turned out to be a Catholic church. Um, I think it was, uh, our lady of the sacrament,

uh, just at 56th and Chester Avenue in West Philadelphia. And I lived at 57th and Greenway, just a couple of blocks away and walked to that and, and worshipped, went to church as a 15-year-old kid, feeling like God was calling me. Everyone else was home in bed. It turned out that that was the year and the summer of this revelation. I didn't know at the time. I didn't even know what a Latter-day Saint was at the time. But isn't that interesting that 2,500 miles away, prophets and apostles were receiving this revelation, and somehow the Lord was preparing people elsewhere, not just here in the U, but around the world. Brother Corbett, do you know that the night Joseph Smith got the plates, Brigham Young had a vision. He had no idea who Joseph Smith was. He'd never heard of anything

like that, but he and Heber C. Kimball both on September 21st, right, John? September 21st, 1827, went outside and they both saw visions of angels. So this is the Lord's pattern. He prepares his people. I was asked to write an essay of just as kind of a sidebar essay to the main essay on the priesthood, race in the priesthood. So I wrote a personal essay. The church leaders wanted me to put my voice in it. And while I'm writing this essay, in June of 2012, my wife and I and our daughter, only remaining child in the home, were out in Boise picking up our son, Marcus, from his mission. And so they had gone out, we had gotten Marcus, I was going to release

him that afternoon, but they went out to do some shopping, and I was alone at the hotel, when suddenly my phone rings. And I'm working on this essay at the time. My phone rings, and it's the only time I'd ever been called by an apostle or prophet. And, hello? Brother Corbett? Yes, this is Ahmed Corbett. Elder Perry. And I said, I was flustered. I said, Elder L. Tom Perry? Bungling. And no, the other Elder Perry. But he just ignored that. He was so gracious. He said, yeah, that's right. I'm coming out to New York. And at that time, I was directing the New York Office of Public and International Affairs. So I'm coming out to New York. And he was the chairman of the Public Affairs Committee. And I'd like to get a report

and kind of see what's going on, et cetera. And I said, happy to. And we talked about it. And I said, by the way, uh, elder Perry, uh, I happen to be, I'm going to release my son here in a few minutes when he returns, I'm here in Boise on vacation. I was his stake. I was the, I was the stake president at the time. And, uh, and he gave me some counsel to give him, and I told him I would, and that I'd give it to every missionary that I'd release after that. So I've given it dozens of times. But then it occurred to me, John and Hank, that Elder Perry participated in the revelation. And I thought, oh, my. So I said, Elder Perry, you may not know this.

You'd have no reason to know this. But I was asked to write an essay on race in the priesthood. And it just occurred to me that you participated in the revelation. He then proceeds to tell me his experience, which is, according to his son, Lee Perry, is nowhere else written. And so I incorporate it with Elder Perry's permission. First of all, I wrote it in my journal, and then incorporated a piece of my journal, a portion of my journal into the essay. So it's part four of that four-part essay brethren i don't know how the priesthood restriction began i don't know that i don't

have the answer for that um but i know how it ended the lord spoke to those i i bear witness in the name of the Lord that Jesus Christ revealed himself to those, his will to those apostles and prophets. In fact, Elder Perry said, and I put this in the essay, we were not alone. And the Holy Ghost bore witness to me, head to toe, that this was an apostle and that he and others received a revelation. This revelation that we call official declaration to. The Lord wanted to help you with your essay. It sounds like, hey, you want a firsthand account here. Why don't I help you? I'll have him call you right now. It was amazing.

Just amazing. That said, I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this is going to sound like a bold statement, and it is bold. I believe that our church is the best positioned, and with all due respect to other unity and harmony throughout the family of God among all the international organizations in the world. And for many reasons. We just talked about apostles and prophets. They are the chief gatherers. Again, back to Article of Faith 10, we believe in the literal gathering of Israel. They're the chief gatherers, to unify all of God's children throughout the world of whatever background who are willing to become one in Christ. Secondly, back to Article of Faith 10, the church is destined to gather Israel.

President Nelson, as you know, said that's the most important thing taking place on earth today. It has to happen in preparation for the second coming of the Savior. And our church is authorized, empowered, and positioned to effect that gathering, to bring it to pass. And that gathering will be from all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. And I love the, I'm sure you, I'm sure your brother are familiar with this scripture in section 45, where the Lord says, and it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered

out from among all nations and shall come to Zion singing with songs of everlasting joy. To just pick, imagine the family of God from all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people looking like the whole spectrum of races and ethnicities and so on. And he will gather all of the willing into one in Christ, into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So we have a wonderful destiny, and all of the members of the Church are invited to help prepare an environment for everyone to come into the Church and feel like they belong and feel loved. Brother Corbett, we have a lot of seminary teachers and institute teachers and Sunday school teachers who listen to the podcast. How would you help them explain official declaration to its history? How would you help them explain that to their young students? I know you spoke to

the seminary and institute teachers in Salt Lake Valley once about this, so I'd love to see if we can glean a little bit of that for those who weren't there. And they were a great group, great group of consecrated souls. And I would say essentially what I would keep it simple, and I don't know why the priesthood restriction began or how it began. I don't know to whom to attribute it. I would say that. I think we get in trouble theorizing and speculating, and a lot of that's been done in the church. And in President Oaks' words, some people have been spectacularly wrong with some of those speculations and trying to give reasons.

So I would say that. I would say let's not get ahead of when the Lord can reveal why that happened or how it happened, if he wanted to, and when he wants to. I would say, young brothers and sisters, we don't know when that happened or why it happened. together, look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having our hearts knit together in unity and love one toward another, we will, as the Book of Mormon teaches, we can create a culture of total unity and inclusivity in the Lord's church in preparation for the second coming. Look forward. Look forward. Look forward with an eye of faith and see it. It's prophesied and it's promised,

so it's a promise of the Lord. He does not lie. Therefore, it's a future reality that we can look forward to and see, and then do the things that lead to that kind of outcome. It doesn't get to that outcome to criticize each other, to judge each other, to look in the past and say you were this or you were that or whatever. That's not the way to do it. I would warn our students to be careful of a lot of online stuff, which can be very strident and bitter and purport to be sort of carrying the banner of unity and racial harmony, but kind of go about it in the world's way rather than in the Savior's way. I would also say to the students that unity among God's children, think of 4 Nephi, think of Moses 7, and the city of Enoch, and so on, that's God's work.

And the Lord said in section 12 to Joseph Knight Sr., What is Zion? The pure in heart. It's where they lived together, dwelt together in righteousness of one heart, one mind. There was no poor among them. And so seek to bring forth and establish that cause. Behold, I speak unto you and also to all those who have desires to bring forth and establish this work. And here's the key. And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble, or she, humble and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate or moderate,

not extreme or strident in all things whatsoever shall be entrusted to his or her care. And so as we can bring about unity in the church and we can help the Lord create the miracle of Zion, this utopia of Zion, where there are no ites among us, where we're all one in Christ. And surely there could not be a happier people among all the people created by the hand of God. We can do that if we do it in the Lord's way. It must be the Lord's way. The world's way won't work. President Oaks said, I feel like I'm talking too much, but President Oaks said, only the gospel, only the gospel of Jesus Christ can unite people of different races in unity. And President Nelson said in April that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is exactly

what this weary, contentious world needs. Brother Corbett, my friend Steve Rose told me to ask you about what the Book of Mormon teaches about using race to start conflict. The head note to official declaration two actually refers to the book of Mormon. It says the book of Mormon teaches that all are alike unto God, including black and white bond and free male and female. That's the popular scripture. Second Nephi 26 verse 33 of the book of Mormon is another, I mentioned two reasons the church is uniquely positioned to bring to pass unity and harmony among God's children of all backgrounds. The Book of Mormon is a third. It's a key, key reason. First of all, President Nelson says that the gathering of Israel would not occur without the Book of Mormon.

It's the only book of scripture where God explicitly tells people of one color and culture to reach across color barriers to another people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, in the Book of Mormon, the righteous, those who are converted to the gospel, always refer to the other as our brethren. So the sons of Mosiah, when they're going to go and preach to the Lamanites, the Lord himself said, go unto thy brethren. So the Lord validated the practice. And then Samuel the Lamanites, the Lord himself said, go unto thy brethren. So the Lord validated the practice. And then Samuel the Lamanite, when he is sent to wicked Nephites to call them to repentance, heal them in 13, 14, 15, 16, he refers to them as his brethren. So a telltale sign of a truly converted person who really is seeking the mind of Christ is that they will see people of different backgrounds, different appearances as their brothers and sisters, and they will refer to them as such.

Another thing about the Book of Mormon is that it, and I understand there are theories and some speculation about whether change in skin color, skin of blackness that's referred to in the Book of Mormon is metaphorical or literal. Here's what I would say and have said to my children. That skin of blackness phenomenon happened within a family. It happened in the family of Lehi and Soraya and Ishmael. It happened among them. Those are not, that blackness has no reference or connection whatsoever to black people today. And so it's a family matter. It's not a racial matter. It's a family matter. It's a family issue within that ancient Hebrew family. And the Lord did it, I think, for a larger loving purpose. The Book of Mormon helps us see that, the point I just made made that those who follow Christ love all people is sort of a different take on charity seeketh not her own. But it also warns us about Satan's tactics. So for example, here we have in Alma 43, I personally read the Book of Mormon this way. Alma 43, toward the beginning, verse 4,

For behold, it came to pass that the Zoramites, these were Nephite type dissidents, so these are lighter people, that the Zoramites became Lamanites, which at that time was becoming more of a philosophy. Let's start with verse 6. And now as the Amalekites, who were Nephite dissidents, were of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were in and of themselves. Therefore, Zarahemna, and this is a Nephite dissident, appointed chief captains over the Lamanites, and they were all Amalekites and Zoramites. And here's the key. Now, this he did that he might preserve their hatred towards the Nephites, that he might bring them into subjection to the accomplishment of his designs.

And what were his designs? They were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites. That tells me, as a black person in the latter days for which the book was written, to be on the lookout for this tactic by Lucifer to stir up people against people of a different color or culture. And this is throughout the Book of Mormon. Look at Alma 48.1, and now it came to pass that as soon as Amalickiah, a Nephite dissident, rejected the church, tried to get authority, had obtained the kingdom, he began to inspire the hearts of the Lamanites against the people of Nephi. And note this, yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their towers

against the Nephites. So today, whether I'm black or white or whatever I am, as a reader of the Book of Mormon, I'm on the lookout for dissidents who seek to turn people against others of a different color or culture and who maybe even use technology to do it. What are today's towers or platforms? There are just a couple others.

In Alma 35, verse 8, Now the people of the Zoramites were angry with the people of Ammon. You remember that the people of Ammon were Lamanites. They were people of color. The Zoramites were not. And the chief ruler of the Zoramites, being a very wicked man, sent over unto the people of Ammon, desiring them that they should cast out of their land all who came over from them into their land.

And he breathed out many threatenings against them. And now the people of Ammon did not fear their words. Therefore, they did not cast them out, but they did receive all the poor of the Zoramites. But then in verse 10, now this did stir up the Zoramites to anger against the people of Ammon. So here you have, you know, you have all of the variations of this. You have people of dissidents stirring up people of color against others. You have dissidents stirring up their own people against the people of color. In various places, you have Lamanite leaders. I'm thinking of Mosiah 10, where King Laman stirs up his people against the Nephites. And so you have every variation of this throughout

the Book of Mormon, all of it to warn us in the last days to not be stirred up to anger against people of other colors and cultures by those who are seeking power. Wow. Yeah. And I love what you said about this is a family matter. I always tell my classes that this was true for this people in this time. Whatever gave us the idea we could apply this to the whole world. The Book of Mormon doesn't tell us to do that. I love when I can see something new in there.

How did you say that? Be on the lookout for those who stir up conflict among people of another culture or race to gain power. That's so good. That is a message of the book i mean that is yeah if you want to look at it's a recurring theme yeah throughout mosiah and alma especially it's these i if i can just get people hating each other and and then you've got um who is it that refuses to do it john John? Lehontai. He's like, I refuse to do this, but didn't he get sucked into it? I've not come down from my mountain, but then he does.

And I loved equating towers with modern platforms. It's so good. Right? Right? Yeah. As I recall, other than the Tower of Babel, I may be wrong, but I think that's the first time towers were used for wicked purposes. Yeah, because a couple of chapters before, Captain Moroni caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower. That's Psalm 46. And then you get to 48. Well, yeah, we can use towers too. So they go up to their towers. Kind of like the internet.

Yeah. Preach hatred against the Nephites. One tower says, love God. One says, hate Nephites. And they gear up for war. Very wonderful. Man, that is powerful insight. It really is. I can see seminary teachers all over and institute teachers saying, oh, thank you for that. I'm scribbling notes right now. Because it's scary to teach these things in a class where you feel like, do I even have a right to talk about this? But there's such positivity. Thank you, Brother corbett i was it lynn wilson who said that there is this language that is climbing the charts like crazy as far as the

membership of the church and it is french and the reason why is because of converts in africa and how exciting that is especially since my daughter and son-in-law speak French. Oh, do they? Because of their missions, you know. I've heard Dr. Dan Judd talk about the work in Africa, and he says it's 1820, 1830, the miracles are. Right. Oh, Hank, you said that before. It's always 1820 somewhere.

That's Elder Holland, right? 20 somewhere that's elder holland right and i hope our listeners might really be inspired by going to speeches.byu.edu and find uh e dale le baron who gave a talk called um i think it was called african converts without baptism and uh then he wrote a book called All Are Alike Unto God using that 2 Nephi 26, 33. He was the mission president in South Africa after official declaration too. And his experiences going in are so fun to read about. Finding people that the Lord had prepared, just like you walking down the

street. Brother Corbett, what a cool story. And our leaders are so clear, they're so unequivocal on this, on denouncing racism, inviting people to repent for racism or racist feelings or things like that, prejudice generally, but they do it in the Lord's way. They set an example for how to do it. And we all have. Growing up as I did, when we first came to church, the very first time we visited a ward building in 1980, it was overwhelmingly white. We weren't used to that, obviously, with the Nation of Islam and the black church, but there was such undeniable love in the eyes and hearts of the people that it was actually more powerful that they were white showing that love to a black family. It was more powerful to us because it was more stark. I think that's what the first presidency and the 12 envision as they look forward and see the church gathering all of us into one one family of god yes in design no more uh what did

you you quoted forth nephi and they were one the children of christ no more ites it was our identity comes from article of faith number one we are sons and daughters of God. Yeah. Well, Brother Corbett, absolutely beautiful. I'm just feeling that it's good for us to be here today. But I think our listeners would love to hear some more about you, exactly how old were you when you came in contact with the church, when you joined the church, when you went on a mission, and then maybe you could close with your feelings about the restored gospel. Sure, sure. I was 17 years old. Missionaries came by our home. My parents had moved over to southern New Jersey. I remained in Philadelphia to graduate

high school. They let me do that. The missionaries came by and attracted into our family. We later found out that they had fasted and prayed for a family that was prepared for the gospel. So that was a very validating experience. But we, mom and four younger siblings, there are 10 of us children, were baptized a month later in June of around late June or so of 1980. My older sister and I were baptized two months later on my 18th birthday in August. And then my dad, about a year later, a little less. And then my older brother who was out already out of the home and had his own family, he was baptized 14 years later. So both parents and all 10 children joined the church, and it changed our lives. And by living the gospel, we became much better.

Now, testimony-wise, the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are much more than things that make people better. Yes, they make bad men good and good men better, as Brigham Young said. But I testify that this church is the kingdom of God on earth, that it is the church of Jesus Christ. It's the one he organized when he was upon the earth, but restored after a period of falling away. With, as we said in the articles of faith, apostles and prophets and pastors and evangelists and so on. I bear witness that those who hold the keys in this church hold the keys of the kingdom delegated from heaven and have the power to unlock opportunity for God's children to receive the doctrine of Christ, including its ordinances and covenants and its laws,

and to come unto Christ and be saved by his grace and by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. I bear witness that the Book of Mormon and the Bible and the other scriptures are the word of God. And I love them. And as we seek to guide our lives by them and through them and with them, we will be happier whatever our circumstances. I know that to be true and have experienced it.

I know that I love my family, my wife, Jane, our children, our wonderful six children, our 12 grandchildren, more to come. And Jane and I are together forever. We will be exalted in the celestial kingdom in the presence of God. And we will have our family with us. And that promise is to all the faithful, regardless of whether we're married now or not. And so I bear witness of these truths of the joy and peace and happiness of the gospel, even amidst trying times. And I do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Amen. Wow. John, I'm really glad you're friends with Brother Corbett. This was such a wonderful, wonderful day. I just hope people feel the wonderful spirit that we felt and are blessed by this. I'm glad to be friends with you. This is, I mean, John was right. It is good for us to be here.

Yeah. And we hope everyone who listened feels that same way. Thank you for taking time for our podcast. We're grateful for your support. We couldn't do anything without our executive producers, Steve and Shannon Sorenson and their wonderful children and grandchildren. We love you. And to our production crew, Lisa Spice, Jamie Nielsen, David Perry, Kyle Nelson, Will Stoughton, and Scott Houston. We love you. Thank you. And we hope all of you will join us on our next episode of Follow Him.