1978 “Black Revelation”…Continued from previous Emerging Profiles in the AUB

This is a continuation of the Emerging Profiles presentation given 5 years ago in St George at the Mormon History Association.  Even though it is older material I believe it still holds relevance to the present day.  The split that is happening in the group is much deeper than LaMoine’s death bed appointment of Lynn and subsequent sexual molestation allegations.  Understanding the history of the “black revelation” and the Groups response  is an important element which can shed light on how the group arrived in its current state.  

The 1978 “Black” Revelation belief profiles within Pinesdale

·         Expansionists claim the declaration was NOT a revelation but yet another political statement which resulted in the defilement of the temples.  This action by the Church resulted in the forfeiture of priesthood authority and therefore it has become the duty of the Group to now exercise all priesthood keys.  The 1981 Revelation on temple endowments by Owen Allred made the transfer of keys official.

·         Traditionalists generally see the 1978 declaration as a political statement also and are not comfortable with blacks holding the priesthood.  However, they are equally uncomfortable with the Group’s expansion into performing temple ordinances.  They are ok with the Group doing the endowment for live marriages as they feel that still fits under the traditional purpose of the Group. 

·         The people in the group leaning towards the Analyzer mindset are starting to reexamine their previously held beliefs on the “black issue” and are now beginning to look at the 1978 declaration by the church in a different light.  Some adhering to the Analyzer mindset have gone so far as to claim that the move by the Church was indeed a political statement but that it also might have been an inspired move that the Church not only had the right to make but was necessary in furthering missionary work throughout the world. They are becoming very uncomfortable with the Groups expanded role in temple ordinances and are starting to refuse to participate in those ordinances.   Furthermore they are coming under fire by those with the expansionist view and are seen as walking a fine line between apostasy and faith.

The 1978 “Black Revelation” is pivotal to understanding the current state of the Allred Group and the diverging thought profiles that are emerging.  After the official Church declaration, Group leadership struggled for several years debating over whether their traditional role may have changed.  Under Rulon Allred’s leadership since the 1950’s The Group was taught to stay only within their professed calling of keeping plural marriage alive.  However, after the Black Revelation in 1978, the leadership in the Group believed the Church had simply gone too far by giving blacks the priesthood and many in fact believed the Church had gone as far as actually forfeiting their remaining priesthood keys.  Up until this time, plural marriage ceremonies in the Group had taken place but without the temple endowment.  There were rumored instances where men in the Group had supposedly given the endowment in their own marriages but they were however sharply rebuked by Rulon Allred for doing so.  As far Rulon Allred was concerned the temple endowment belonged in the temple and the group did not hold those keys.

The Black Revelation by the Church came less than eighteen months after the murder of Rulon Allred in 1977 and the Group was still in the early transitions of leadership from Rulon to his younger brother Owen Allred.  Consequently, President Kimball’s declaration on the priesthood led to a perplexing time period for people in the Group with some pushing to expand their priesthood responsibility and others cautioning to hold back. 

The culmination of this struggle came in 1981 at LaMoine Jenson’s home where the council met to discuss and seek guidance from the Lord pertaining to possibly expanding priesthood powers and offering the temple endowment.  At that council meeting they could not come to a definitive consensus of how to proceed so the council members who had already received their temple endowments (while members of the LDS Church) decided to separate themselves from those who had not received the endowment. Each group then prayed, asking for guidance from the Lord.  According to those present, when the endowed members re-entered the room, Owen Allred was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to dictate a revelation from the Lord which would allow the Group to start offering the temple endowments and marriage sealing for worthy members. 

Currently, the “1981” revelation is only available to be seen and read by worthy members, actively and earnestly seeking to participate in the “fullness of the gospel”.  One member said they were finally allowed to read the revelation only after they became an ordinance worker in the Group’s Endowment House.  Other members claim to have copies of the revelation; however, it is closely guarded and not available to the general membership of The Group.

The first endowments were offered in prominent members homes including LaMoine Jenson’s. Worthy members were contacted by letter from the leadership and asked to attend a special meeting.  Many had no idea of what was in store for them until they arrived in person and were informed they would be receiving their endowments in a temple ceremony. Members who participated in receiving the first endowments described the experience as humbling, awkward, spiritual, and scary; wondering if they were doing the right thing or not. 

It didn’t take long for the whispers and rumors to grow among the general group membership regarding the availability of the new group endowment.   In the early days after the revelation Owen Allred claimed the revelation gave the Group the right to offer the endowment for marriage sealings only.  However, the fervor of expanded priesthood keys was hard to hold in check and immediately some members of the council began lobbying Owen Allred to continue the expansion; claiming the revelation actually gave the Group all of the keys and rights necessary to performing all temple ordinances including work for the dead in sealing, baptisms, and even Second Anointings. 

By the mid 1980’s there were several members of the leading council who began offering temple ordinances in private settings by invitation only.  It was during this time period that an LDS Church member who was in the process of converting to The Group, in an apparent attempt to show his willingness to follow Group leadership, secreted two members of the AUB council into the Seattle temple.  Because of his security clearance, they entered through a service entrance after the temple closed for the evening.  According to those involved they did not perform any ordinances or take anything but were escorted throughout the building to the different ordinance rooms and the temple president’s office.  However, the ordinance paper work for the dead in several different languages was allegedly handed over to Owen Allred in a briefcase only a few months later on the day when this family made their conversion to the group complete with their move to the Salt Lake Valley in 1987.

This particular “temple gate” incident also played a crucial role in the relationship between The Group and local LDS congregations in the Bitterroot Valley.  Even though the incident was kept quiet among group members it was not long before it leaked out and members of the Stake leadership in Stevensville found out about it.  Because of this they became extremely fearful of people in Pinesdale who might attend the LDS ward or show interest in joining the church.  It helped further the already present distrust as the local Church leadership fostered the suspicion that people in Pinesdale were simply trying to gain access to temple ordinances. 

The incursion by the members of the groups leading council into the Seattle temple is regrettable.  Quite simply, it should not have happened and showed an appalling lack of respect and arrogance towards the LDS Church’s private property.  If the tables were turned and members of the Church secretly gained access to The Group’s endowment house or Mexico temple, The Council would have been outraged.

I found out about the temple gate incident in 2005 when a local LDS leader asked me to personally see to the safety and privacy of my grandmother’s temple recommend so that it did not fall into the wrong hands.  My grandmother was suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s and had moved back to Pinesdale to be taken care of by her family but was attending the Hamilton ward.   I became very agitated when he told me his concern about her recommend falling into the wrong hands and assured him that no one in Pinesdale would ever event think of using a temple recommend for secret purposes.  It was then that he revealed the Seattle story to me.  I still did not believe him until I did my own digging to only confirm firsthand that the Seattle story was indeed true.  

The wheels were certainly already in motion for the group to expand their role in offering access to temple ordinances but it is interesting to note that shortly after this particular family’s conversion and the “temple gate” incident, the Allred Group began conducting baptisms and sealings for the dead in earnest.  Interestingly, leading members of the council still awkwardly refuse to confirm that baptisms for the dead are in fact being performed by the Group even though they are taking place nearly every weekend in Pinesdale, Bluffdale, Rocky Ridge, and their temple in Mexico.  

The 1980’s was an exciting, stirring, and apprehensive time for the Group as they expanded their responsibilities and access to sacred temple ordinances.  Some saw the new  developments as the literal fulfillment of their prayers in asking for the temple blessings to be available to the righteous saints.    However, not all shared in the excitement.  Some members of the Group became increasingly uncomfortable with the seemingly expansionist role and perceived transfer of priesthood keys. Athlene Allred actually confronted Owen Allred over her concern regarding the Group expansion beyond their traditional boundaries.  In response, Owen admitted that “the matter” as he called it had indeed gone too far, acknowledging he had been influenced by constant pressure from a few members of his priesthood council. 

The 1978 black revelation and subsequent Group’s revelation in 1981 regarding temple ordinances marked a critical turning point in the direction and scope of the AUB group.  To many, their already held belief that the LDS Church was teetering on the edge of apostasy was confirmed.  Their desire to participate in temple ordinances was too big a carrot to turn away from for a group of people who felt like they had been locked out of the temple for over 80 years.  That expansion however has been a bit of double edged sword.  Their new responsibilities have put them on a path of distancing themselves from their traditionally held beliefs of only having the keys to keep plural marriage alive.  This puts the Group in a precarious situation where they need to embrace the historical tenants of Mormonism on one hand and preach against the present state of Mormonism as espoused by the mainstream LDS Church on the other hand. Those who hold the expansionist view as well as many among the rising generation since the 1980’s have begun to see the Group as God’s only chosen people with the LDS Church becoming smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror.   

To be continued...next post dealing with Virginia Hill and how it has spawned differences among the emerging profiles