A Letter From The Publisher, Aug. 7, 1978

The word came suddenly in June: after more than 100 years of barring blacks from its priesthood, the Utah-based Mormon Church was reversing its stand. Spencer Kimball, 83, the church’s leader, had experienced a revelation. For 4 million practicing Mormons, a period of anxious waiting followed as Kimball refused to elaborate publicly on his moment of epiphany. Finally TIME Staff Writer Richard Ostling broke through the wall of silence to interview Kimball for this week’s story on the Mormon Church.

The discussion took place in Salt Lake City in Kimball’s dark paneled office overlooking a courtyard garden. For an hour and a half, the Mormon leader addressed questions about the scriptures of his church, the social changes it faces, and the issues stirred by the June revelation. Unaccustomed to talking to the press, Kimball seemed ill at ease and spoke tersely. Still, he clearly conveyed a sense of his inner reflections. Says Ostling: “I don’t think the revelation was an easy thing for him to act on. He realized it would be a turning point in the history of the church.”

For Ostling, gaining a private talk with one of the world’s most important religious leaders was the latest accomplishment of a career that began in 1963. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan, he wrote for Christianity Today, a Protestant publication (his own beliefs, he says, are “conventionally Protestant”). Ostling became its news editor, then joined TIME in 1969.

Religion in America has changed over those years, says Ostling, as has the job of covering it. Familiar denominations no longer provide most news stories. Many churches have splintered, as worshippers differ over doctrine or follow charismatic seers. Parishioners struggle over how their churches should relate to society. Says Ostling: “It’s more difficult now for those of us who watch the field to decide what we should cover. We have to be a lot more limber, and continually re-examine the news.” This week’s assessment of the Mormon Church, on which Ostling worked with Correspondent Edward J. Boyer and Reporter-Researcher Sara Medina, reaffirms TIME’s longstanding commitment to do that.