Some of President
Boyd K. Packer’s counsel on
church leader’s
weaknesses, bishop’s interviews,
and teaching about
procreation and the law of Chastity
[Compilers note: With certain issues
attracting attention in various media venues today, right before General
Conference, I took a few minutes and copied and pasted some relevant comments
made by President Boyd K. Packer during his ministry. These are found at
gospelink.com (subscription required) and are from one or two of his books. I
have not bothered to provide further sourcing than that. Though spoken in
decades past, these excerpts are so on-point today they could have been written
this morning—a sign of prophetic inspiration during their preparation/delivery.
I assembled them for any wishing to gain insight into the principles and
doctrines of the gospel that keep a member steady, faithful, and unconcerned, while
the world is in commotion around us. -Dennis B. Horne]
I speak to that member of the Church who struggles with a
test of faith that could touch any one of us.
If I can take the arm of that one and steady him when his
faith is tottering, I do not hesitate to impose upon the rest of you for just a
few minutes.
At times someone has come to me, their faith shaken by
alleged wrongdoings of some leader in the Church.
For instance, one young man was being constantly ridiculed
by his co-workers for his activity in the Church. They claimed to know of a
bishop who had cheated someone in business; or a stake president who had
misrepresented something on a contract; or a mission president who had borrowed
money, giving false information.
Or, they told of a bishop who had discriminated against one
member, refusing to give a temple recommend, but had shown favoritism by
signing a recommend for another whose unworthiness was widely known.
Such incidents as these, which supposedly involve Church
leaders, are described as evidence that the gospel is not true, that the Church
is not divinely inspired, or that it is being misled.
He had no satisfactory answer to their charges. He felt
defenseless and foolish and was being drawn to join them in their criticism of
the Church.
Did he believe all of these stories? Well, he could not be
sure. There must be something to some of them.
If you also face such a test of faith, consider the
questions he was asked:
"Have you ever in your life attended any Church
meeting-priesthood meeting, sacrament meeting, Relief Society, Sunday School, a
conference or fireside, a seminary class, a temple session, or any other meeting
sponsored by the Church-where any encouragement or authorization was given to
be dishonest, to cheat in business, or take advantage of anyone?"
He answered that he had not.
"Have you read, or do you know of anything in the
literature of the Church, in the scriptures themselves, in lesson manuals, in
Church magazines or books, in Church publications of any kind, which contains
any consent to lie, or to steal, to misrepresent, to defraud, to be immoral or
vulgar, to profane, to be brutal, or to abuse any living soul?"
Again he said, after thoughtful consideration, that he had
not.
"Have you ever been encouraged in a training session, a
leadership meeting, or an interview to transgress or misbehave in any way? Have
you ever been encouraged to be extreme or unreasonable or intemperate?"
He had not.
"You are inside the Church where you can see at close
hand the conduct of bishops or Relief Society presidents, of high councilors,
stake presidents, or General Authorities. Could such conduct be described as
being typical of them?"
He thought it could not.
"You are active and have held positions in the Church.
Surely you would have noticed if the Church promoted any of these things in any
way."
Yes, he thought he would have noticed.
"Why then," I asked him, "when you hear
reports of this kind, should you feel that the Church is to blame?"
There is no provision in the teachings or doctrines of the
Church for any member to be dishonest, or immoral, or irresponsible, or even
careless.
"Have you not been taught all of your life that if a
member of the Church, particularly one in a high position, is unworthy in any
way, he acts against the standards of the Church? He is not in harmony with the
teachings, the doctrines, or with the leadership of the Church.
"Why, then, should your faith be shaken by this
account, or that, of some alleged misconduct-most of them misrepresented or
untrue?"
There are those who assume that if someone is depressed, the
Church must have caused it. If them is a divorce, somehow the Church is to
blame. And on and on.
When something is published about someone in major
difficulty, if he is a member of the Church, that fact is generally included as
essential information.
But have you ever read of a robbery, a theft, an embezzlement,
a murder or suicide, that listed the guilty party as a Baptist, or a Methodist,
or a Catholic? I think you have not.
Why, then, do they find it worth the mention when the
unfortunate person is a Mormon?
Really, that is something of a backhanded compliment. It is
an acknowledgment that members of the Church are supposed to know better, and
we're supposed to do better; and when we don't, they point at the Church.
Be careful of those who promote controversy and contention,
"For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention
is not of me," saith the Lord. (3 Nephi 11:29.)
This next question concerns those who are shaking your
faith.
Are they really being fair? Could it be that they point to
alleged misconduct, insinuating that the Church is responsible, to excuse
themselves from living the high standards of the Church or to cover some
failure to do so? You think about that-carefully.
Now, does anyone holding a responsible position in the
Church ever act unworthily?
The answer: of course, it happens. It is an exception, but
it happens. When we call a man to be a stake president or a bishop, for
instance, we say, in effect:
"Here is a congregation. You are to preside over them.
They are under constant temptation, and you are to see that they win that
battle. Govern them in such a way that they can succeed. Devote yourself
unselfishly to this cause.
"And, incidentally, while you preside, you are not
excused from your own trials and temptations. They will, in fact, be increased
because you are a leader. Win your own battle as best you can."
If a leader does conduct himself unworthily, his actions fly
against everything the Church stands for, and he is subject to release.
It has even been our sad responsibility, on some few occasions,
to excommunicate leaders from the Church who have been guilty of very serious
illegal or immoral conduct.
That should increase, not shake, your faith in the Church,
or of a nonmember toward it.
When I was a student, nothing tried my faith more than the
falling away of the Three Witnesses. If ever there was a temptation, for the
sake of appearances, for the Church to compromise Church principles, that was
the time. It was not done; and therefore, what had shaken my faith, one day was
transformed into an anchor to hold it steady.
When you hear stories, be wise. Unless you are in all the
interviews, and hear all the evidence, you are not in a position to really
know. Be careful, lest you jump to a conclusion.
Unless you are a participant and have full knowledge,
better: "Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Often actions of bishops and stake presidents and others are
misread by people who are not in a position to know the full truth.
Neither the bishop nor the member he is judging is obliged
to confide in us. The bishop must keep confidences.
When all is said and done, in most cases, it is clearly none
of our business anyway.
Now, then, stand steady. Keep your faith. I bear witness
that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. God lives and directs this work. The
Church is on the right course. It is on schedule. And I bear witness that it is
righteously led by a prophet of God.
Things that now are stumbling blocks may, one day soon, be
stepping-stones for you.
But do not expect to see the day when this Church, or those
in it, will be free from resistance, criticism, even persecution. That will
never be.
______________________________________
It is our responsibility to teach the subject in such a way
that the principles of truth will overcome the misconceptions and misleading
falsehoods that are taught so widely. We must teach so powerfully and so
permanently that the truth cannot be overcome by the temptation to immorality,
no matter how enticing.
In 1958 seminary and institute teachers were assembled at
Brigham Young University for a summer school. I was assigned by President
William E. Berrett to talk on the subject "Problems in Teaching the Moral
Standard." In preparation for that assignment, I made a more than usual
investment in prayer and fasting, in research and inquiry, including interviews
with some of the General Authorities.
In the process of that preparation I came to some
conclusions that I have not since that time abandoned—indeed, they have become
reinforced through all that I have since learned on the subject. I am convinced
that two of the major mistakes are to teach too much about the subject and to
teach it at the wrong time. I am firmly convinced of the following principles.
The notion that our young people need to be taught in great
detail all of the facts relating to the physical processes involved in
reproduction at an early age is nonsense. The overteaching of it is not a
protection. Such things as they should know about the subject should be taught
in a framework of reverence and modesty.
The responsibility and the right to teach these sacred
processes rest with the parents in the home. I do not believe that it is the
responsibility of the public schools, nor is it the responsibility of the
organizations of the Church. The contribution of the Church in this respect is
to teach parents the standards of morality that the Lord has revealed and to
assist them in their responsibility of teaching these sacred subjects to their
children.
Because many parents do not accept this responsibility, some
consideration of it is given by the Church. When this is justified, if it is
justified, the subject ought always to be treated in the framework of
reverence.
In treating this subject, I do not personally see the
necessity of using clinical terminology. I do not see the necessity of using
explicit names of the organs of the body, nor for those processes by which
bodies are conceived as a tabernacle for the spirit.
The one place in the Church where some frank discussions may
be appropriate is during an interview for priesthood advancement, for a call to
a position, for a temple recommend, or in an interview in which a member is
confessing transgression in order to get it resolved.
Occasionally, deep inquiry may be necessary. This teaching
process, and that's what interviewing can be, ought likewise to be shrouded in
modesty and the subject ought to be treated with reverence, wisdom, and
restraint.
I know of more than one instance in which a young person has
been led to experiment in gross and perverted immorality because of a
suggestion that originated with his bishop in an interview.
Those who teach, and I refer to leaders, to teachers, and to
parents, should keep in mind this message. Picture a father and mother leaving
home for a period of time. Just as they go out the door they say to their
little children who are to be left untended during their absence, "Now
children, be good. Whatever you do while we are gone, do not take the footstool
into the pantry, and do not climb to the fourth shelf and move the cracker box
and reach back and get the sack of beans and take a bean and put it up your
nose, will you?"
Some of us are just that foolish. The humor of the illustration
is wry humor when you think of the first thing that happens after the parents
are gone. Surely we can be wiser than that. Young people should know from the
very beginning that chastity is a sacred subject.
At the summer school mentioned, I put together some thoughts
on how I would like my children to be taught this subject by others outside our
home. Then over a period of nearly fifteen years, I worked on this subject
until I was confident enough to deliver it as a sermon in general conference under
the title "Why Stay Morally Clean."
You may not immediately be aware as you read it that you
will not find a certain three-letter word that is usually included in the title
of this kind of education.
The favorable response from young people has been considerable,
and I am continually grateful. Their responses frequently express gratitude for
the declaration that the power of creation is sacred and that it is good. They
seem to appreciate a positive indication of when and how and for what purpose
that power is to be employed by them in mortality.
To me assuring evidence favoring such an approach has been
the aforementioned response from young people literally all over the world,
since "Why Stay Morally Clean" has been translated into many
languages.
If you are a teacher and if you are a parent, I would urge
that you approach the teaching of this subject with reverence, with humility,
and with modesty and moderation. May the Lord bless you as you do so.
______________
I am sure that within the sound of my voice there is more
than one young person who already has fallen into transgression. Some of you
young people, I am sure, almost innocent of any intent but persuaded by the
enticements and the temptations, already have misused this power.
Know then, my young friends, that there is a great cleansing
power. And know that you can be clean.
If you are outside the Church, the covenant of baptism
itself represents, among other things, a washing and a cleansing.
For those of you inside the Church there is a way, not
entirely painless but certainly possible. You can stand clean and spotless
before Him. Guilt will be gone and you can be at peace. Go to your bishop. He
holds the key to this cleansing power.
Then one day you can know the full and righteous expression
of these powers and the attendant happiness and joy in righteous family life.
In due time, within the bonds of the marriage covenant, you can yield
yourselves to those sacred expressions of love which have as their fulfillment
the generation of life itself.
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