While it is easy to list all the things that the Church has been late to the table on (civil rights, LGTBQ issues, etc), are there any items where the Church was on the right side early, or at least not behind everybody else?

When has the Prophet actual “seen around corners”? I’ll start with a couple and then you fill in some more.

First is the prohibition on tobacco. Even if the stories of Joseph putting tobacco in the Word of Wisdom because Emma was upset with cleaning up the mess that comes with chewing, it was ahead of most people on the health concerns. There was a few people in the 1600s who linked tobacco use to the same illnesses that chimney shoot caused. A few doctors in the 1700s saw a link with mouth cancer. But it really wasn’t until the late 1800s (long after the WofW), when the automated cigarette rolling machine was invented and people could buy rolled cigarettes and start to chain smoke the the detrimental effects of tobacco hit the masses. In 1920 a handful of doctors made the link to an increase in lung cancer. Putting on my TBM hat, maybe God, through Emma and her complaining about the mess on the floor, inspired the prohibition on tobacco use. But then he missed the mark on tea and coffee, so it’s really hard to put this in the win column as direct revelation from God, but there is no arguing it was ahead of its time.

Second is the emphasis on the Family in the 1960s and 70s. With the advent of Family Home Evening (which I’m a product of), the Church was early or maybe just in time to fight the culture wars, hippies, drugs, and the sexual revolution.

Maybe a third is the Church’s stand on immigration. While they won’t come out and say it explicitly, in my opinion they are very much against the MAGA immigration movement. I’ve seen talk (with no firm sources) that proponents of a Utah bill that would have denied benefits to illegal immigrants removed the bill from consideration when they learned the Church would be against it. (if any of you well connected readers have more info on this, please share!)

So can you think of anything the Church got right, and was ahead of the rest of the world? Or are my items above just an example of a broken clock being right twice a day?