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When Brad Wilcox, a Brigham Young University religion professor and high-ranking Latter-day Saint leader, stepped to the pulpit more than a week ago to address youths in Alpine, he likely had little sense of the firestorm that would follow his sermon.
For one, he had given the same talk before — a point he noted in his most recent apology.
Indeed, this particular talk can be traced back to at least December 2019. The only difference between those previous versions and the one he gave Feb. 6 seems to be that the latter was recorded and then widely shared.
Overnight, excerpts whipped through social media. Once there, an audience bearing little resemblance to Wilcox’s typical assemblage of teenagers analyzed and agitated over the meanings and implications of his statements regarding women, members of other faiths and the former priesthood/temple ban for Black members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The fallout was swift. By Monday evening, Wilcox, second counselor in the church’s Young Men general presidency, had issued an apology on Facebook, a rare move for a Latter-day Saint leader. The next day, BYU issued a statement, saying the church-owned Provo school was “deeply concerned” with Wilcox’s speech and welcoming “his sincere apology.”
But, according to those interviewed in the aftermath, the beliefs Wilcox shared during his address were not all that surprising. His animated tone and boisterous delivery might have been a far cry from the stoicism of many church leaders past and present, but the messages were among those repeated at times in Latter-day Saint meetings.
Defending the ban as ‘a God thing’
Of all of Wilcox’s statements, none drew more attention and criticism than his remarks about why members shouldn’t focus on the fact Black males didn’t get the priesthood until 1978, when the prohibition was lifted.
“Maybe instead of asking why the Blacks had to wait until 1978 to get the priesthood,” he said, “we should be asking why did the whites and other races have to wait until 1829.”
In reality, a few Black men were ordained to the priesthood under church founder Joseph Smith. It wasn’t until...