Counseling With Our Councils, Part II

This talk is the follow-up on Elder Ballard's talk given six months prior in General Conference.

Counseling with Our Councils

Elder M. Russell Ballard
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

M. Russell Ballard, “Counseling with Our Councils,” Ensign, May 1994, 24

Before I was called as a General Authority, I was in the automobile business, as was my father before me. Through the years I learned to appreciate the sound and the performance of a well-tuned engine. To me it is almost musical, from the gentle purring of an idling motor to the vibrant roar of a throttle that is fully open. The power that sound represents is even more exciting. Nothing is quite the same as sitting behind the wheel of a fine automobile when the engine is operating at peak performance with the assembled parts working together in perfect harmony.

On the other hand, nothing is more frustrating than a car engine that is not running properly. No matter how beautiful the paint or comfortable the furnishings inside are, a car with an engine that is not operating as it should is just a shell of unrealized potential. An automobile engine will run on only a part of its cylinders, but it never will go as far or as fast, nor will the ride be as smooth, as when it is tuned properly.

Unfortunately, some wards in the Church are hitting on only a few cylinders, including some that are trying to make do with just one. The one-cylinder ward is the ward where the bishop handles all of the problems, makes all of the decisions, and follows through on all of the assignments. Then, like an overworked cylinder in a car engine, he is soon burned out.
Our bishops have heavy demands placed upon them. They—and they alone—hold certain keys, and only they can fulfill certain responsibilities. But they are not called to be all things, at all times, to all people. They are called to preside and to lead and to extend God’s love to His children. Our Heavenly Father does not expect them to do everything by themselves.
The same is true of our stake presidents, priesthood quorum and auxiliary presidents, and, for that matter, mothers and fathers. All have stewardships that require large amounts of their time, talent, and energy. But none is left to do it alone. God, the Master Organizer, has inspired a creation of a system of committees and councils. If understood and put to proper use, this system will decrease the burden on all individual leaders and will extend the reach and the impact of their ministry through the combined help of others.
Six months ago I stood at this pulpit and talked about the importance of the council system in the Church. I spoke about the great spiritual power and inspired direction that come from properly conducted family, ward, and stake councils. The Spirit continues to bear witness to me of how vital efficiently run Church councils are to the accomplishment of the mission of the Church. For that reason, I have been anxious to see how well my remarks in October were understood, particularly by our faithful and diligent bishops.

During training sessions I have conducted in various locations since last general conference, I have focused attention on the ward council. As part of that training, I invited a ward council to participate. I gave to the bishop a theoretical problem about a less-active family and asked him to use the ward council to develop a plan to activate this family.

Without exception, the bishop took charge of the situation immediately and said, “Here’s the problem, and here’s what I think we should do to solve it.” Then he made assignments to the various ward council members. This was a good exercise in delegation, I suppose, but it did not even begin to use the experience and wisdom of council members to address the problem.

Eventually I asked the bishop to try again, only this time to solicit ideas and recommendations from his council members before making any assignments. I especially encouraged him to ask the sisters for their ideas. When the bishop opened the meeting to council members and invited them to counsel together, the effect was like opening the floodgates of heaven. A reservoir of insight and inspiration suddenly began to flow between council members as they planned for fellowshipping the less-active family.

As I watched this same scenario played out before me time after time during the past six months, I decided that it would not be out of order to speak about the importance of councils once again. I speak not to scold those who did not give serious attention last time, but because we have an urgent need in the Church for leaders, particularly stake presidents and bishops, to harness and channel spiritual power through councils. Family, ward, and stake problems can be solved if we seek solutions in the Lord’s way.

In my experience, lives are blessed when leaders make wise use of committees and councils. They move the work of the Lord forward much faster and farther, like a fine automobile operating at peak efficiency. Committee and council members are unified. Together they experience a much more pleasant trip along the highway of Church service.

For my purpose today, let me review three ward committees and councils that always should follow a prearranged agenda.

First is the priesthood executive committee. It consists of the bishopric, high priests group leader, elders quorum president, ward mission leader, Young Men president, ward executive secretary, and ward clerk. This committee meets weekly under the direction of the bishop to consider ward priesthood programs, including temple and family history, missionary, welfare, home teaching, and member activation.

Second is the ward welfare committee. It includes the priesthood executive committee plus the Relief Society presidency. This committee meets at least monthly, again under the direction of the bishop, to consider the temporal needs of ward members. Only the bishop may allocate welfare resources, but the committee helps care for the poor by planning and coordinating the use of ward resources, including the time, talents, skills, materials, and compassionate service of ward members. In this and in other committee and council meetings, delicate matters often are discussed, requiring strict confidentiality.

The third is the ward council. It includes the priesthood executive committee; the presidents of the Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Women, and Primary; and the activities committee chairman. The bishop may invite others to attend as needed. This council meets at least monthly to correlate planning for all ward programs and activities and to review ward progress toward accomplishing the mission of the Church. The ward council brings a varied group of priesthood and women leaders together to focus on the broad range of issues that affect ward members and the community. The council reviews suggestions from home teachers and visiting teachers.

Recently, a bishop who was concerned about reverence in his ward expressed his concern to the members of the ward council and asked for their suggestions. Hesitantly, the Primary president raised her hand.

“Well,” she said, “one person consistently does a lot of enthusiastic visiting in the chapel just before and after sacrament meeting. It can be pretty distracting.”

The bishop had not noticed anyone being especially noisy in the chapel, but he said he would talk to the offending party. He asked the sister who it was.

She took a deep breath. “It’s you, Bishop,” she said. “I know you’re just reaching out to people, and we all appreciate your desire to greet everyone who comes to the meeting. But when others see you moving around the chapel talking to people during the prelude music, they figure it’s OK for them to do the same thing.”

When others in the ward council nodded in agreement, the bishop thanked her and asked for recommendations. The council soon decided that the bishopric, including the bishop, should be in their places on the stand five minutes before sacrament meeting to set an example of reverence in the chapel. During a follow-up discussion, the council members indicated unanimously that the simple plan had worked and that reverence in sacrament meeting had improved decidedly.

Another bishop was concerned about the trend he noticed in ward fast and testimony meetings. Members were bearing few testimonies of Christ and His gospel; instead, they were sermonizing, giving travelogues, sharing personal experiences that were not related to the gospel, and talking about family outings and activities. The bishop understood that those topics were important to the speakers. But they were not testimonies of Christ and His gospel. He asked the ward council, “How can we teach the importance of using testimony meeting for testifying of Christ and His restored church without offending our members?”

After a little time and some comments by the sisters, the council suggested that the bishop should teach the members what a testimony is and what it is not. In addition, the council concluded that the quorums and auxiliaries should discuss the purpose of testimony meeting, and home teachers and visiting teachers should review this subject with individual families during their monthly visits. The bishop now reports, “Our testimony meetings are much better. The witness of Christ and His love for us is expressed by the members, and the spirituality of our ward has improved greatly.”

One major concern of the General Authorities is the lack of retention in full fellowship of some new converts and those who are less active in the Church. If ward councils are functioning as they should, every new convert will be fellowshipped, will have home teachers or visiting teachers, and will receive an appropriate calling within days after baptism. The less active will receive callings that assure them that they are needed and loved by the ward members.

The Brethren also have expressed “concern regarding Church members’ involvement in groups [which are often very expensive] that purport to increase self-awareness, raise self-esteem, and enhance individual agency.” Church leaders and members should not become involved in such groups. Instead, “local leaders should counsel those desiring self-improvement to anchor themselves in gospel principles and to adopt wholesome practices that strengthen one’s ability to cope with challenges” (Bulletin, 1993–2, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1993).

When stake presidents and bishops allow the priesthood and auxiliary leaders whom the Lord has called to serve with them to become part of a problem-solving team, wonderful things begin to happen. Their participation broadens the base of experience and understanding, leading to better solutions. You bishops energize your ward leaders by giving them a chance to offer suggestions and to be heard. You prepare future leaders by allowing them to participate and learn. You can lift much of the load from your shoulders through this kind of involvement. People who feel ownership of a problem are more willing to help find a solution, greatly improving the possibility of success.

Once the appropriate councils are organized and the brethren and the sisters have full opportunity to contribute, ward and stake leaders can move beyond just maintaining organizations. They can focus their efforts on finding ways to make their world a better place to live. Certainly ward councils can consider such subjects as gang violence, child safety, urban blight, or community cleanup campaigns. Bishops could ask ward councils, “How can we make a difference in our community?” Such broad thinking and participation in community improvement are the right things for Latter-day Saints to do.

For the past eight and one-half years I have served as a member of a council of twelve men. We come from different backgrounds, and we bring to the Council of the Twelve Apostles a diverse assortment of experiences in the Church and in the world. In our meetings, we do not just sit around and wait for President Howard W. Hunter to tell us what to do. We counsel openly with each other, and we listen to each other with profound respect for the abilities and experiences our brethren bring to the council. We discuss a wide variety of issues, from Church administration to world events, and we do so frankly and openly. Sometimes we discuss issues for weeks before reaching a decision. We do not always agree during our discussions. But once a decision is made, we are always both united and determined.

This is the miracle of Church councils: listening to each other and listening to the Spirit! When we support one another in Church councils, we begin to understand how God can take ordinary men and women and make of them extraordinary leaders. The best leaders are not those who work themselves to death trying to do everything single-handedly; the best leaders are those who follow God’s plan and counsel with their councils.
“Come now,” said the Lord in an earlier dispensation through the prophet Isaiah, “and let us reason together” (Isa. 1:18). And in this dispensation, He repeated that admonition: “Let us reason together, that ye may understand” (D&C 50:10).

Let us remember that the basic council of the Church is the family council. Fathers and mothers should apply diligently the principles I have discussed in their relationships with each other and with their children. In doing so, our homes can become a heaven on earth.

Brothers and sisters, let us work together as never before in our stewardships to find ways to make more effective use of the wondrous power of councils. I ask you to consider all that I said on this subject last October with what I have said today. I testify that we can bring the full force of God’s revealed plan for gospel governance into our ministries as we counsel together. May God bless us to stand united as we strengthen the Church and our members, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Counseling With Our Councils, Part I

This talk, and the one given six months later in General Conference, are the foundation of Elder Ballard's book on Counseling With Our Councils.  It is my favorite book as far as church government is concerned, because it is so practical and useful.  I think both of these talks are outstanding and do not get the type of attention they deserve.  As I sit in meetings, I sometimes wonder how we have missed the instruction from Elder Ballard on how to operate as a council. Anyway, this talk was the first, and I will post the second right after.

Strength in Counsel

Elder M. Russell Ballard
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

M. Russell Ballard, “Strength in Counsel,” Ensign, Nov 1993, 76

The Brethren have taught plain and precious truths about the gospel of Jesus Christ from this pulpit during this conference. I bear testimony that we have heard “the will of the Lord,… the mind of the Lord,… the word of the Lord,… the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation” (D&C 68:4).

As the Lord Himself said in His preface to the Doctrine and Covenants: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38).

We have missed the voices of President Benson, President Hunter, and Elder Ashton during this conference. I seek the help of the Lord because I want to teach an important principle with the same spirit and clarity as my Brethren have taught.

God called a grand council in the premortal world to present His glorious plan for our eternal welfare. The Lord’s church is organized with councils at every level, beginning with the Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and extending to stake, ward, quorum, auxiliary, and family councils.

President Stephen L Richards said:

“The genius of our Church government is government through councils. I have had enough experience to know the value of councils. Hardly a day passes but that I see … God’s wisdom, in creating councils … to govern his Kingdom.…

“… I have no hesitancy in giving you the assurance, if you will confer in council as you are expected to do, God will give you solutions to the problems that confront you” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1953, p. 86).

As a member of the Twelve, I serve on several general Church councils and committees. I meet regularly with the leaders of the auxiliaries. Together we counsel, we search the scriptures, and pray for guidance as we strive to learn how the auxiliaries can more effectively bless and strengthen the members of the Church.

In many respects, general Church councils function much the same as stake and ward councils. All councils in the Church should encourage free and open discussion by conferring with one another and striving to have clear, concise communication. Councils should discuss objectives and concerns, with mutual understanding being the ultimate goal. Stake and ward councils are ideal settings for leaders of all organizations to converse together and strengthen one another. The primary focus of stake and ward council meetings should be coordinating activities and stewardship, not calendaring. In these meetings, priesthood and auxiliary leaders should review together their responsibilities and find ways for Church programs to help members live the gospel in the home. Today, individuals and families need wise and inspired help from the Church to combat the evils of the world.

In a recent council meeting with the presidencies of the women’s auxiliaries, the sisters told me that very few women in the Church express any interest in wanting to hold the priesthood. But they do want to be heard and valued and want to make meaningful contributions to the stake or ward and its members that will serve the Lord and help accomplish the mission of the Church.

For example, not long ago we were talking about the worthiness of youth to serve missions. President Elaine Jack said, “You know, Elder Ballard, the sisters of the Church may have some good suggestions on how to better prepare the youth for missions if they were just asked. After all, you know, we are their mothers!” The sisters’ suggestions can help equally regarding temple attendance and a host of other matters with which priesthood leaders may be struggling.

Brethren, please be sure you are seeking the vital input of the sisters in your council meetings. Encourage all council members to share their suggestions and ideas about how the stake or ward can be more effective in proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the Saints, and redeeming the dead.

Ideally, all members of any Church or any family council should share their concerns and should suggest solutions based on gospel principles. I believe the Church and our families would be strengthened if stake presidents and bishops would use their council meetings for finding answers to questions on how to improve sacrament meetings; how to improve reverence; how to focus on children; how to strengthen youth; how to help singles, including single parents; how to teach and fellowship investigators and new members; how to improve gospel teaching; and many similar issues.

During the last half of this year, we have been holding a special training meeting in conjunction with each stake conference to discuss the morality of our youth. Those who have been participating are members of stake and ward councils. Every question directed to me in the discussion period could be discussed most appropriately in a ward council meeting. Yet rarely do those asking the questions feel that they have had an opportunity in ward council meetings to raise their questions, voice their concerns, and offer their suggestions.

In these perilous times, we need the cooperative effort of men and women officers in the Church because absolute vigilance is required on the part of all who have been entrusted to help watch over the kingdom. We each have large individual responsibilities, but just as important is the responsibility we share with others to come together in council in a united effort to solve problems and bless all of our Church members. When we act in a united effort, we create spiritual synergism which is increased effectiveness or achievement as a result of combined action or cooperation, the result of which is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

The ancient moralist Aesop used to illustrate the strength of synergism by holding up one stick and asking for a volunteer among his listeners who thought he could break it. Of course, the volunteer was able to break one stick easily. Then Aesop would put more sticks together until the volunteer was unable to break them. The moral to Aesop’s demonstration was simple: Together we generate synergism, which makes us much stronger than when we stand alone.

God never intended that His children should stand alone. Children have parents, and parents have the Church, with the scriptures, living prophets and Apostles, and the Holy Ghost, to help them understand proper principles and act upon those principles in fulfilling their parental responsibilities.

The Apostle Paul taught that the Savior organized the Church, complete with Apostles, prophets, and other officers and teachers

“for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith” (Eph. 4:12–13).

Paul compared the members of the Church and their various responsibilities to the body:

“For the body is not one member, but many….

“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.…

“But now are they many members, yet but one body.

“And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.…

“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:14, 18, 20–21, 26).

The scriptures state clearly that while our respective callings may be different and may change from time to time, all callings are important to the operation of the Church. We need the priesthood quorums to assert themselves and fulfill their divinely mandated stewardship, just as we need the Relief Society, the Primary, the Young Women, the Sunday School, and the activities committees to perform their vital functions. And we need the officers and members of all of these inspired organizations to work together, assisting each other as needed for the benefit of individuals and families. This is not man’s work nor woman’s work; it is all God’s work, which is centered on the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. I have some specific suggestions that, if followed, I believe can help us be more effective with our families and in our Church callings.

First, focus on fundamentals. We have certainly been taught about these fundamentals during this conference. Those who teach must make sure the doctrine remains pure and that it is taught. Teach by the Spirit, using the scriptures and the approved curriculum. Do not introduce or dwell on speculative and questionable topics. Study the teachings of this conference in family home evenings and in family discussions; they will strengthen your homes. In a world that is filled with sin, conflict, and confusion, we can find peace and safety in knowing and living the revealed truths of the gospel.

Second, focus on people. Coordination and calendaring have their time and place, but too many council meetings begin and end there. Rather than reciting a litany of organizational plans and reports, spend most of the time in council meetings reviewing the needs of individual members. In doing so, confidentiality is critical. Council members must hold all matters discussed in council meetings in strict confidence.

Third, promote free and open expression. Such expression is essential if we are to achieve the purpose of councils. Leaders and parents should establish a climate that is conducive to openness, where every person is important and every opinion valued. The Lord admonished: “Let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified” (D&C 88:122; emphasis added). Leaders should provide adequate time for council meetings and should remember that councils are for leaders to listen at least as much as they speak.

Fourth, participation is a privilege. With that privilege comes responsibility—responsibility to work within the parameters of the organization, to be prepared, to share, to advocate vigorously the position you believe to be right. But just as important is the responsibility to support and sustain the final decision of the council leader, even if you do not agree fully.

President David O. McKay told of a meeting of the Council of the Twelve Apostles where a question of grave importance was discussed. He and the other Apostles felt strongly about a certain course of action that should be taken, and they were prepared to share their feelings in a meeting with the First Presidency. To their surprise, President Joseph F. Smith did not ask for their opinion in the matter, as was his custom. Rather, “he arose and said, ‘This is what the Lord wants.’

“While it was not wholly in harmony with what he had decided … ,” President McKay wrote, “the President of the Twelve … was the first on his feet to say, ‘Brethren, I move that that becomes the opinion and judgment of this Council.’

“ ‘Second the motion,’ said another, and it was unanimous. Six months did not pass before the wisdom of that leader was demonstrated” (Gospel Ideals, Salt Lake City: Improvement Era, 1953, p. 264).

When a council leader reaches a decision, the council members should sustain it wholeheartedly.

Fifth, lead with love. Jesus taught that the first and greatest commandment in the law is to

“love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.…

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:37, 39).

Priesthood leaders are to lead with “persuasion,… long-suffering,… gentleness and meekness,… love unfeigned;… kindness, and pure knowledge” (D&C 121:41–42). Those are the principles that should guide us in our relationships as neighbors in the church of Jesus Christ.

Those who hold the priesthood must never forget that they have no right to wield priesthood authority like a club over the heads of others in the family or in Church callings. The Lord told Joseph Smith that “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 121:37).

In other words, any man who claims the special powers of heaven for his own selfish purposes and seeks to use the priesthood in any degree of unrighteousness in the Church or in the home simply does not understand the nature of his authority. Priesthood is for service, not servitude; compassion, not compulsion; caring, not control. Those who think otherwise are operating outside the parameters of priesthood authority.

Thankfully, most of our fathers and priesthood officers lead with love, just as most of our mothers and auxiliary leaders do. Leadership based on love brings incredible power. It is real, and it generates lasting results in the lives of our Father’s children.

May God bless you, brothers and sisters, to find inspired consensus and unity as you counsel together in your service one to another. Only in so doing can the Church and our families begin to approach their full potential for doing good among the children of God on earth.

I know God lives and Jesus is the Christ. I know we can accomplish their work better through unity and love as we sit in council one with another. May we be blessed to so do is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

On the Budget

Obviously, I did not ever hear this talk, but I heard the one President Packer refers to early in this talk, and it was groundbreaking.  I have strong feelings about the budget and the proverbial "widow's mite", and President Packer does a great job outlining why the budget was changed.  I will also post the follow up talk he gave in conference immediately after this.

Let Them Govern Themselves

    Address delivered by Elder Boyd K. Packer
    Regional Representative Seminar
    Friday, March 30, 1990

    The Lord said, "Behold, I will hasten my work in its time. And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you. . . organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean." (D&C 88:73-74)

    In the last period of time, since the October conference, the Quorum of the Twelve has been following that admonition against the obvious hastening that is taking place; the unprecedented, miraculous changing of the circumstances across the world. Nations, in a sense are being born in a day and the invitation now is for our missionaries to move into countries where we have no members and to move into countries where we have had members who have lived under almost impossible circumstances. This hastening has been the source of sobering reflection and we of the Twelve, under the direction of President Hunter, have held many meetings, over viewing and calling into attention things of the past; looking at our circumstances at the present, and looking into the future as is not only our calling, but our responsibility as prophets, seers, and revelators.

    We have held meetings with the First Presidency and I think the theme that you have felt in this meeting and will feel from the conference and will see as the conference concludes with momentous events having occurred, that we need now to prepare ourselves and to put on the new man and the new woman, to change a mind-set and to move into the future that the Lord is preparing for us.

    Recent letters announced the decision to fund the Church henceforth from tithes and offerings. As has been mentioned here two or three times today, other collections, assessments, and fund-raising, with a few and perhaps temporary exceptions, are to be discontinued.

    In a recent satellite broadcast that was viewed here in the United States and Canada, the principles and doctrines which should govern the change were presented. While three men spoke, it was a single message. Since those talks were distributed or will reach you where translation is necessary, I will present but a brief quote, one from each of the counselors in the First Presidency which embody the spirit of the instruction.

    President Monson:

• "The budget allowance program was created to reduce financial burdens on members.
• Members should not pay fees or be assessed to participate in Church programs.
• Priesthood leaders should reduce and simplify activities wherever possible.
• Let me repeat: Priesthood leaders should reduce and simplify activities wherever possible.
• Activities should be planned at little or no cost, should build testimonies and provide meaningful service to others."

    And then he added: "It is the desire that restraint be used in programming youth activities and that consistency between young women and young men programs be achieved." (Thomas S. Monson, satellite broadcast, 18 Feb. 1990)

    President Hinckley

"Perhaps we have gone to far" this is the roller coaster President Monson referred to earlier "in providing for some beyond what is needed or what is best in terms of the individuals and their families.

"It should be recognized the this Church is not a social club. This is the Kingdom of God in the earth. It is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its purpose is to bring salvation and exaltation to both the living and the dead.

"These officers and teachers, and these young men and women, are people of ingenuity who with faith and prayer can work out programs costing little in dollars that will yield tremendous dividends in wholesome recreation and faith-building activities. Perhaps we should be less concerned with fun and more with faith." (Gordon B. Hinckley, satellite broadcast 18 Feb. 1990)

    This change, announced for the United States and Canada, will, by successive steps, be implemented worldwide. I repeat, just as soon as the procedures can be worked out and some experience gained, it will be implemented across the world.

    To many, it is just a welcome relief, a change in procedure a relatively small thing.

    It was the prophet Alma who told us "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. . .And the Lord God doth work by (small) means to bring about his great and eternal purposes" (Alma 37:6-7).

    To me this "small thing" is among the major decisions that I shall have witnessed in my lifetime. I will attempt to explain to you why my conviction of its importance is so fixed.

Like a Team of Doctors

    In recent years we might be compared to a team of doctors issuing prescriptions to cure or to immunize our members against spiritual diseases. Each time some moral or spiritual ailment was diagnosed, we have rushed to the pharmacy to concoct another remedy, encapsulate it as a program and send it out with pages of directions for use.

    While we all seem to agree that over medication, over-programming, is a critically serious problem, we have failed to reduce the treatments. It has been virtually impossible to affect any reduction in programs.

    Each time we try, advocates cry to high heaven that we are putting the spiritual lives of our youth at risk. If symptoms reappear, we program even heavier doses of interviews, activities, meetings, and assessments.

    The best answer, perhaps is to withdraw all prescriptions and start over. The whole correlation effort, which took about twenty years, followed that course and much was accomplished. The habits for moral and spiritual health were defined. The scriptures were prescribed as the basic nourishment. The curriculum, loaded with spiritual nutrients, was developed but we did not allow time for it to work and we failed to close the pharmacy or even effectively control it.

    We now have ourselves in a corner. For instance, we have reason to be seriously concerned about the lack of reverence in the Church. Perhaps this one thing, general across the world, is as much an interference with and a short-circuiting of inspiration as anything that could be pointed to. However, I dare not press for the corrections of that issue because we do not seem to be able to solve a problem without designing a program with pages of instruction and sending it out again.

    It is time now for you who head the auxiliaries and the departments and those of us who advise them, after all the repetitive cautions from the First Presidency, to change our mind-set and realize that a reduction of and a secession from that constant programming must be accomplished.

    The hardest ailment to treat is a virtue carried to the extreme. We cannot seem to learn that too much, even of a good thing, or too many good things, like vitamins taken in overdose, can be harmful.

    In recent years I have felt, and I think I am not alone, that we were losing the ability to correct the course of the Church. You cannot appreciate how deeply I feel about the importance of this present opportunity unless you know the regard, the reverence, I have for the Book of Mormon and how seriously I have taken the warnings of the prophets, particularly Alma and Helaman.

    Both Alma and Helaman told of the church in their day. They warned about fast growth, the desire to be accepted by the world, to be popular, and particularly they warned about prosperity. Each time those conditions existed in combination, the Church drifted off course. All of those conditions are present in the Church today.

    Helaman repeatedly warned, I think four times he used these words, that the fatal drift of the church could occur "in the space of not many years." In one instance it took only six years. (See Helaman 6:32, 7:6, 11:26)

    The announcement of tithes and offerings, which has been sent now, is of such enormous importance because, perhaps for one time only, we have an opportunity in one sweeping stroke, to correct much of what heretofore we have been unable to correct.

    The revelations tell us that there are limits to what mankind will be allowed to do. When those limits are reached, then comes destruction. And, the patience of the Lord with all of us who are in leadership positions, is not without limits.

Regimentation

    The most dangerous side effect of all we have prescribed in the way of programming and instructions and all is the over regimentation of the Church. This over regimentation is a direct result of too many programmed instructions. If we would compare the handbooks of today with those of a generation ago you would quickly see what I mean. And Brother Hanks mentioned that the Melchizedek Priesthood Handbook is an amalgamation of several handbooks and a reduction of them all with, I think, nothing lost; much gained.

    "Teach them correct principles," the prophet said, "and then let," let--a big word, "them govern themselves." (See messages of the Firsts Presidency, p. 54.) Our members should not, according to the scriptures, need to be commanded in all things. (See D&C 58:26)

    Local leaders have been effectively conditioned to hold back until programmed as to what to do, how, to whom, when, and for how long. Can you see that when we overemphasize programs at the expense of principles, we are in danger of losing the inspiration, the resourcefulness, that which should characterize Latter-day Saints. Then the very principle of individual revelation is in jeopardy and we drift from a fundamental gospel principle!

    "Adam fell that men might be: and men are, that they might have joy." That much-quoted verse in the book of Mormon is followed by this one:

    "And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon." (2 Nephi 2:25-26)

    My feeling about our present opportunity with this change in funding is based on doctrine. For generations we have taught that the temporal salivation of the Saints depends upon independence, industry, thrift, and self-reliance. We would never stray from that in teaching about temporal things.

    On the other hand, it is possible that we are doing the very thing spiritually that we have been resolutely resisting temporally; fostering dependence rather than independence, extravagance rather than thrift, indulgence rather than self-reliance.

    We send two diverging signals and the Lord has told us: "if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand" (Mark 3:25).

    It is not that any one thing we have been doing is wrong, for we have acted with the best of intentions. Some of us remember when President Kimball saw the outlay of curriculum and the vast display of printed material. He said he was frightened, "We have done it all with the best intentions." It is just that we can do far too much of good things. One or two reports of inactivity or extreme behavior and we rush to make corrections across the whole Church with more programs, more interviews, more assessments.

Risks Involved

    This change will cause a reduction in programs and activities; that we intended. I quickly admit that there are risks involved when we simplify instructions or loosen up on regimentation. It is no different than what we face when our own children begin to mature and venture out into the world. Wise parents loosen the apron strings and help children to leave the nest to start anew the cycle of mortal life.

    If we teach them correct principles rather than overburdening them with too many instructions and programmed activities, they can be both free and spiritually safe in any nation, among any people, in any age. If we indulge them too much, or make them too dependent, we weaken them morally, then they will be compelled by nature itself to find the wrong way.

    The only safe course is to make sure that they know the gospel, that they are acquainted with the scriptures, with revelation, with repentance, with how the Holy Ghost functions, with the voice of the Spirit.

    A knowledge of right and wrong does not automatically result from programmed activities. It must be taught.

We Need to be Temperate

    We need a sensible balancing of and a careful withdrawal of this medication of over programming. It can begin simply by restraining ourselves from writing more prescriptions, and by counseling local leaders not to replace the ones we phase out. So, the problem Regional Representatives! There will be the tendency, we have seen it already when we began to phase out and withdraw, for the local leaders, conditioned as they are, to want to use that time and build up more detailed programs on their own.

    We must use great care and be temperate. There are always those who will go to the extreme and want to cancel all activities. That is not what I am talking about, not at all. I am talking about a careful course correction.

    There are always those who cry for a lifting of all the rules and regulations and laws and restraints. Always they claim that the doctrine of free agency demands that.

Moral Agency

    The agency the Lord has given us is not a "free" agency. The term "free" agency is not found in the revelations. It is a moral agency. The Lord has given us freedom of choice:

    "That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment." (D&C 101:78)

    There is no agency without choice; there is no choice without freedom; there is no freedom without risk; nor true freedom without responsibility.

    This change in budgeting will have the effect of returning much of the responsibility for teaching and counseling and activities to the family where it belongs. There will be fewer intrusions into the family schedules and into the family purses.

    It will set a better balance between families being assessed time and money to support Church activities, and Church activities complementing what families should do for themselves and backing away to an extent so they can do it. That is, if all of us will understand and will do it.

    I repeat, perhaps for one time only we have the opportunity to adjust that balance so that Church activities sustain parents and families rather than the other way around.

    Now, there will be smaller budgets and fewer activities, fewer programs. That will leave a vacuum. Nothing likes a vacuum.

    We must resist, absolutely resist, the temptation to program that vacuum. That space belongs to families. When we cut down on Sundays to the block plan that consolidated our meetings and left some time open, you know what happened. Now brethren, it is their time. Let them use it as they feel to do -- for better or for worse. That is the risk. If we fail to teach them correct principles, teach them the doctrine, they will not know how to govern themselves.

    If we do, then that vacuum will be filled with prayer and work and study, study for school, for instance, study the gospel. It will be filled with faith and reverence. It will be filled with the intimate love between husband and wife, with the tender love of parents to children. There will come a safe and virtuous dependency. Latter-day Saints will come to depend upon the Lord instead of upon the headquarters of the Church.

    We are in mortality to receive a mortal body, to be tested, to prepare for Godhood. There is no testing without choice. Please, for this one time, honor the agency of the members, the families.

Reorientation of Thinking

    This change has given me renewed hope. It will require some considerable adjustment in our thinking and a change in deeply ingrained habits.

    What we do we must do wisely, temperately. We can effect a course correction and we will see the Church delivered safely to the next generation. And then we can move into these developing nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    It is my personal conviction, I think it is obvious, that this change in budgeting will have enormous reactivation influence on those who have held back because they could not afford the cost of Church activities.

    Stake leaders now must sponsor fewer activities, leaving most of the time and money to ward leaders. We have had reports, for instance, of stake presidents that, in one case, want to keep 65% of the allotments so that they can continue with their stake activities and leave the wards to themselves. Now, will you Regional Representatives watch that, to see that budgets are shifted down to the wards. It will need your attention. Ward leaders in turn, by this action, will be leaving more of both time and money to the families.

    Another point. Some of us have missed the point that this is a reduction in both time and money. In fact, the letters that came out from the First Presidency over the last years, one of them issued five times, for instance, emphasizes the reduction in the time required of Church members first, not just the money.

Commercial Substitutes

    Something else we must watch: already there grows up commercially oriented activities. Resourceful members of the Church saying, "Well, if the Church is going to back off on this, we can provide that" and you can see the obvious. Be careful of those. Be alert to them; beware of them.

Tithes and Offerings

    When President Benson was a stake president, he wrote the First Presidency proposing that the Church be operated on tithes alone. It took him a little while to get it done. He said: "We will depend on tithing more than ever to finance the programs of the Church. That will be possible only as all our leaders and more of our membership are full-tithe payers." (President Ezra Taft Benson, Regional Representative Seminar, 2 April 1982)

    There should not be the slightest hesitancy to teach and preach and emphasize the principle of tithing. Tithing is a principle with a promise. Read Malachi. That statement "prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it," those blessings come simply from bringing your tithes and offerings. And He said "neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts." (See Malachi 3:10-11) This is a principle with a promise, and it is the door to the temple.

    The scriptures speak of tithes and of offering they do not speak of assessments or fund raising. To be an offering it has to be freely given, not assessed or requested.

Spiritual vs. Temporal

    Tithing is not so much a matter of money as a matter of faith. While the change in budgeting may seem at first to be a temporal matter, the effect of it will be spiritual.

    The Lord said that not at any time has he given either a law or a commandment which is temporal. (See D&C 29:34-35) Of course he has not! Temporal means temporary and, whether his laws govern the physical or the spiritual, his laws are eternal!

Bishop's Interviews

    Another "small thing" has happened, something unprecedented. You know that the guides and handbooks prescribe so many bishop's interviews and regulated the frequency of them that it would be literally impossible for a bishop to conduct them all without him having to neglect other things. Because of that, bishops often end up feeling inadequate or guilty.

    I will read a statement from the new Melchizedek Priesthood Handbook that Brother Hanks introduced to us. Listen carefully:

    "In large wards, the interviews of Aaronic Priesthood young men and young women may become burdensome. Bishops, acting with inspiration and wisdom, may wish to adjust their scheduling and frequency of interviews." Can you see the loosening up? "For example, some young members may need added attention while others may need less frequent interviews than are suggested. The bishop should interview priests and young women of corresponding age and may assign other youth interviews to his counselors. When a counselor encounters serious matters, such as transgressions that require confession, he should refer the member to the bishop without delay. Parents should be encouraged to stay close to their children allowing local Church leaders to act in a supporting role."

    Yesterday in our temple meeting we were talking about this and talking a little about the other meetings that the other meetings that the bishop is scheduled to be to. Every time there is a graduation or a change in something, they prescribe the bishop to be at the meeting. President Monson mentioned that when he was a bishop, he followed the practice that if the counselor had something to do with the organization, he said, "Well even though the handbook said the bishop should be there, you will be the bishop for that meeting!" There can be a delegation.

The Family

    Now, in conclusion, I once thought the family was unfairly neglected in the Church, particularly in the organization. We have Melchizedek priesthood quorums to foster the interest of men; the Relief Society for Sister. We have Aaronic Priesthood quorums for boys, young women for girls, primary for the children and so on. Each organization has general and local presidencies and quorums and boards.

    But for the family there is no such thing, not so much as a committee. The family has been everybody's business. Everybody's business, as we know, is nobody's business. I used to worry as we designed programs to fit the weak, unstable family, scheduling for men, women, children, youth, young adults, singles, everything, with too little attention paid to the effect it was having on stable families.

    I remember when some pressed for a written form so families could report their compliance with the family home evening program. We did not permit it. And to this day we have some who want to program formal interviews between parents and their children.

    I once wondered if we should create an agency to represent the family. But on more serious reflection, I changed my view. There are some things which cannot be counted and should not be programmed. Matters with deepest doctrinal significance must be left to married couples and to parents to decide for themselves. We have referred them to gospel principles and left them to exercise their moral agency. Serious problems often come voluntarily to their bishop. That is the best way.

    We cannot program individual and family prayer, indeed all of the basic human relationships, the emotional and the feelings, the bonds that bind man to woman and parents to children, all of the quiet influences, the sacred things that are centered in family life. The family is apart from and above the other organizations and under the sealing authority, more enduring than them all.

    While the family may suffer both neglect and intrusion because of our penchant to program everything, nevertheless, at the same time, the family has been protected. Therein lies a testimony of the genius of Church organization.

    I have but to ask one "what if" question to convince you of that. What if, in the correlation process, we had organized a general board of the family? The very thought of it sends chills of horror through my being.

    Now, you know why I feel as I do about this change.

    The world opened to us. We move now into developing nations and into nations liberated from slavery, not unlike the Israelites as they came from Egypt. Their wilderness will be one of poverty in both temporal and spiritual knowledge. We must not indulge them as we have indulged ourselves. If we do as we should, wherever there is a Latter-day Saint family, there the Church stands organized.

    Alma spoke also of miracles worked by small means, and he included a warning; "Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works." But, "they were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased and they did not progress in their journey." (Alma 37:41)

    Brothers and sisters, have you not heard that voice from the dust, the prophets of ancient times warning us, teaching us? Can we not now move into the future to meet the tremendous opportunities that are before us and taketh the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, leaving much behind, not neglecting those fundamental doctrines, those fundamental gospel principles and ordinances. Then we will have acted in the offices to which we have been called with all diligence and the Lord will bless us.

    I bear witness that He lives, that this is his church, that it is led by inspiration and that his spirit is guiding us, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


Let Them Govern Themselves
Boyd K. Packer

1. Reduce and simplify -- course correction. Pres. Monson
2. Less concerned with fun and more with faith. Pres. Hinckley
3. Don't create additional programs.
4. Warning: Fast growth, accepted by the world, prosperous and popular.
5. Teach them correct principles "let" them govern themselves only safe course is to make sure they:

        * know the gospel
        * are acquainted with the scriptures
        * are acquainted with revelation
        * are acquainted with repentance
        * are acquainted with how the Holy Ghost functions
        * are acquainted with the voice of the Spirit

    --"a knowledge of right and wrong does not automatically result from programmed activities. It must be taught!"

    --Promise

"If we teach them correct principles rather than overburden them with too many instructions and programmed activities, they can be both free and spiritually safe in any nation, among any people, in any age."

6. Return the responsibility of teaching and counseling to the family -- resist the temptation to program the vacuum.
7. Shift budget emphasis from stake to wards.
8. Reduction of both time and money.
9. Teach tithing.
10. "Family is apart from and above the other organizations and under the sealing authority, more enduring than them all."