<P> In the pre-existent eternity various degrees of valiance and devotion to the truth were exhibited by different groups of our Father's spirit offspring . One - third of the spirit hosts of heaven came out in open rebellion and were cast out without bodies, becoming the devil and his angels . The other two - thirds stood affirmatively for Christ: there were no neutrals . To stand neutral in the midst of war is a philosophical impossibility . </P> <P> Of the two - thirds who followed Christ, however, some were more valiant than others . Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions imposed upon them during mortality are known to us as the negroes . Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty . </P> <P> McConkie extended the analysis to conclude that God had established a caste system that proscribed intermarriage of other races with the "negro race," which McConkie believed to be descended from Cain, the murderer of Abel: "In a broad general sense, caste systems have their root and origin in the gospel itself, and when they operate according to the divine decree, the resultant restrictions and segregation are right and proper and have the approval of the Lord . To illustrate: Cain, Ham, and the whole negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry ." </P> <P> On June 1, 1978, McConkie was present in the Salt Lake Temple when a revelation was received by the First Presidency and the Twelve "that the time had now come to extend the gospel and all its blessings and all its obligations, including the priesthood and the blessings of the house of the Lord, to those of every nation, culture and race, including the black race ." This revelation was announced on June 8, 1978 . </P>

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