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Still, conservatism does not rule out innovation. After all, the prophet is a visionary and given to sudden revelations. In 1978 president Spencer Kimball had one such revelation, and blacks were finally allowed to become priests of the church. It was a practical vision. Proselytizing had been proceeding apace in Latin America, where -- particularly in Brazil -- many new converts had African ancestors. The only groups more successful than the Mormons in Latin America are the Pentecostal and other Evangelical preachers. Kimball's revelation also gave the church another continent to conquer: Africa, which recorded membership of 79,000, a 16% growth since 1990, the highest in all the church.