[citation needed] His research found that the priesthood ban was originally established by Brigham Young, the successor to church founder Joseph Smith and that there was no evidence of a prophetic revelation or doctrine which had caused the policy to be adopted.
The end of the ban was announced on June 8, 1978 as a "revelation" received by Spencer W. Kimball, the president of the church, and canonized as Official Declaration 2.
"[5] However, neither Arrington nor any other official church historians had researched or written about the background of the ban prior to the revelation.
"[6] According to Darius Gray, co-founder of the Genesis Group, a grassroots organization for Black Latter-day Saints, "No other single individual had a greater effect on addressing the past policy of restricting those of African descent from the priesthood and temple attendance.
"[7] According to the Juvenile Instructor, an academically leaning blog focused on the history of the Latter-day Saints, "Mormonism's Negro Doctrine" was "a master work of scholarship that not only revolutionized how historians, sociologists, and other academics view the church’s history of race relations, but was also a significant factor leading to Official Declaration 2," which ended the Negro priesthood ban.