President Gordon B. Hinckley
Our behavior in public must be above reproach. Our behavior in private is even more important. It must
clear the standard set by the Lord.
My dear brethren, I wish to speak very plainly this evening
about a matter that I feel deeply concerned over. What a great pleasure and
a worrisome challenge it is to speak to you. What a tremendous brotherhood we
are as those who hold this precious and wonderful priesthood. It comes from
God, our Eternal Father, who in this glorious dispensation has, with His Beloved
Son, spoken again from the heavens. They have sent Their authorized servants
to bestow this divine authority upon men.
Personal worthiness becomes the standard of eligibility
to receive and exercise this sacred power. It is of this that I wish to speak
tonight.
I begin by reading to you from the Doctrine and Covenants,
section 121:
"The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected
with the powers of heaven, and . . . the powers of heaven cannot be controlled
nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
"That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when
we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition,
or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children
of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves;
the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood
or the authority of that man" (D&C
121:36–37).
That is the unequivocal word of the Lord concerning His
divine authority. What a tremendous obligation this places upon each of us.
We who hold the priesthood of God must stand above the ways of the world. We
must discipline ourselves. We cannot be self-righteous, but we can and must
be decent, honorable men.
Our behavior in public must be above reproach. Our behavior
in private is even more important. It must clear the standard set by the Lord.
We cannot indulge in sin, let alone try to cover our sins. We cannot gratify
our pride. We cannot partake of the vanity of unrighteous ambition. We cannot
exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion upon our wives or children, or
any others in any degree of unrighteousness.
If we do any of these things, the powers of heaven are
withdrawn. The Spirit of the Lord is grieved. The very virtue of our priesthood
is nullified. Its authority is lost.
The manner of our living, the words we speak, and our
everyday behavior have a bearing upon our effectiveness as men and boys holding
the priesthood.
Our fifth article of faith states: "We believe that a
man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those
who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances
thereof."
Even though those in authority lay hands upon our heads
and we are ordained, we may through our behavior nullify and forfeit any right
to exercise this divine authority.
Section 121 goes on to say: "No power or influence can
or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by
long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
"By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly
enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile" (D&C
121:41–42).
Now, my brethren, those are the parameters within which
this priesthood must find expression. It is not as a cloak that we put on and
take off at will. It is, when exercised in righteousness, as the very tissue
of our bodies, a part of us at all times and in all circumstances.
And so, to you young men who hold the Aaronic Priesthood,
you have had conferred upon you that power which holds the keys to the ministering
of angels. Think of that for a minute.
You cannot afford to do anything that would place a curtain
between you and the ministering of angels in your behalf.
You cannot be immoral in any sense. You cannot be dishonest.
You cannot cheat or lie. You cannot take the name of God in vain or use filthy
language and still have the right to the ministering of angels.
I do not want you to be self-righteous. I want you to
be manly, to be vibrant and strong and happy. To those who are athletically
inclined, I want you to be good athletes and strive to become champions. But
in doing so, you do not have to indulge in unseemly behavior or profane or filthy
language.
To you young men who look forward to going on missions,
please do not cloud your lives with anything that would cast a doubt upon your
worthiness to go forth as servants of the living God.
You must not, you cannot under any circumstances compromise
the divine power which you carry within you as ordained ministers of the gospel.
By way of warning, and forewarning, the First Presidency
and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have set forth the following statement
directed to you:
"As missionaries, you are expected to maintain the highest
standards of conduct, including strict observance of the law of chastity, . . .
" . . . You should never be alone with anyone else, male
or female, adult or child [other than your assigned companion].
"Even false accusations against an innocent missionary
can take many months to investigate and may result in disruption or termination
of missionary service. Protect yourselves from such accusations by never being
separated from your companion, even in the homes you visit" (First Presidency
statement on missionary conduct, 22 Mar. 2002).
You need not worry about these things if you will at all
times observe the rules of missionary service. If you do so, you will have a
wonderful experience, and you will return in honor to those you love without
taint or suspicion or regret.
When you return home, never forget that you are still
an elder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
You will become involved in the search for an eternal
companion. You will wish to marry in the house of the Lord. For you, there should
be no alternative. Be careful, lest you destroy your eligibility to be so married.
Have a wonderful time. But keep your courtship within the bounds of rigid self-discipline.
The Lord has given a mandate and a promise. He has said, "Let virtue garnish
thy thoughts unceasingly." Then there follows the promise that "thy confidence
[shall] wax strong in the presence of God; and . . . the
Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion" (D&C
121:45–46).
The wife you choose will be your equal. Paul declared,
"Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in
the Lord" (1
Cor. 11:11).
In the marriage companionship there is neither inferiority
nor superiority. The woman does not walk ahead of the man; neither does the
man walk ahead of the woman. They walk side by side as a son and daughter of
God on an eternal journey.
She is not your servant, your chattel, nor anything of
the kind.
How tragic and utterly disgusting a phenomenon is wife
abuse. Any man in this Church who abuses his wife, who demeans her, who insults
her, who exercises unrighteous dominion over her is unworthy to hold the priesthood.
Though he may have been ordained, the heavens will withdraw, the Spirit of the
Lord will be grieved, and it will be amen to the authority of the priesthood
of that man.
Any man who engages in this practice is unworthy to hold
a temple recommend.
I regret to say that I see too much of this ugly phenomenon.
There are men who cuff their wives about, both verbally and physically. What
a tragedy when a man demeans the mother of his children.
It is true that there are a few women who abuse their
husbands. But I am not speaking to them tonight. I am speaking to the men of
this Church, men upon whom the Almighty has bestowed His holy priesthood.
My brethren, if there be any within the sound of my voice
who are guilty of such behavior, I call upon you to repent. Get on your knees
and ask the Lord to forgive you. Pray to Him for the power to control your tongue
and your heavy hand. Ask for the forgiveness of your wife and your children.
President McKay was wont to say, "No other success can compensate for failure
in the home" (quoting J. E. McCulloch, Home: The Savior of Civilization [1924],
42; in Conference Report, Apr. 1935, 116). And President Lee said, "The most
important part of the Lord's work that you will do, is the work that you do
within the walls of your own home" (Harold B. Lee, Doing the Right Things
for the Right Reasons, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [19
Apr. 1961], 5).
I am confident that when we stand before the bar of God,
there will be little mention of how much wealth we accumulated in life or of
any honors which we may have achieved. But there will be searching questions
concerning our domestic relations. And I am convinced that only those who have
walked through life with love and respect and appreciation for their companions
and children will receive from our eternal judge the words, "Well done, thou
good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the joy
of thy lord" (Matt.
25:21).
I mention another type of abuse. It is of the elderly.
I think it is not common among us. I hope it is not. I pray that it is not.
I believe our people, almost all of them, observe the
ancient commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be
long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee" (Ex.
20:12).
But how tragic it is, how absolutely revolting is abuse
of the elderly.
More and more we are living longer, thanks to the miracle
of modern science and medical practice. But with old age comes a deterioration
of physical capacity and sometimes mental capacity. I have said before that
I have discovered that there is much of lead in the years that are called golden.
I am so profoundly grateful for the love and solicitude of our children toward
their mother and their father. How beautiful is the picture of a son or daughter
going out of his or her way to assist with kindness and benevolence and love
an aged parent.
Now I wish to mention another form of abuse that has been
much publicized in the media. It is the sordid and evil abuse of children by
adults, usually men. Such abuse is not new. There is evidence to indicate that
it goes back through the ages. It is a most despicable and tragic and terrible
thing. I regret to say that there has been some very limited expression of this
monstrous evil among us. It is something that cannot be countenanced or tolerated.
The Lord Himself said, "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which
believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt.
18:6).
That is very strong language from the Prince of Peace,
the Son of God.
I quote from our Church Handbook of Instructions: "The
Church's position is that abuse cannot be tolerated in any form. Those who abuse
. . . are subject to Church discipline. They should not be given Church callings
and may not have a temple recommend. Even if a person who abused a child sexually
or physically receives Church discipline and is later restored to full fellowship
or readmitted by baptism, leaders should not call the person to any position
working with children or youth unless the First Presidency authorizes removal
of the annotation of the person's membership record.
"In instances of abuse, the first responsibility of the
Church is to help those who have been abused and to protect those who may be
vulnerable to future abuse" (Book 1: Stake Presidencies and Bishoprics [1998],
157–58).
For a long period now we have worked on this problem.
We have urged bishops, stake presidents, and others to reach out to victims,
to comfort them, to strengthen them, to let them know that what happened was
wrong, that the experience was not their fault, and that it need never happen
again.
We have issued publications, established a telephone line
where Church officers may receive counsel in handling cases, and offered professional
help through LDS Family Services.
These acts are often criminal in their nature. They are
punishable under the law. Professional counselors, including lawyers and social
workers, are available on this help line to advise bishops and stake presidents
concerning their obligations in these circumstances. Those in other nations
should call their respective Area Presidents.
Now the work of the Church is a work of salvation. I want
to emphasize that. It is a work of saving souls. We desire to help both the
victim and the offender. Our hearts reach out to the victim, and we must act
to assist him or her. Our hearts reach out to the offender, but we cannot tolerate
the sin of which he may be guilty. Where there has been offense, there is a
penalty. The process of the civil law will work its way. And the ecclesiastical
process will work its way, often resulting in excommunication. This is both
a delicate and a serious matter.
Nevertheless, we recognize, and must always recognize,
that when the penalty has been paid and the demands of justice have been met,
there will be a helpful and kindly hand reaching out to assist. There may be
continuing restrictions, but there will also be kindness.
Now brethren, I suppose that I have sounded negative as
I have spoken to you this evening. I do not wish to. But I do wish to raise
a warning voice to the priesthood of this Church throughout the world.
God has bestowed upon us a gift most precious and wonderful.
It carries with it the authority to govern the Church, to administer in its
affairs, to speak with authority in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to act
as His dedicated servants, to bless the sick, to bless our families and many
others. It serves as a guide by which to live our lives. In its fulness, its
authority reaches beyond the veil of death into the eternities that lie ahead.
There is nothing else to compare with it in all this world.
Safeguard it, cherish it, love it, live worthy of it.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt.
5:16), is my humble prayer as I leave my blessing upon you and extend my
love, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Previous
