A Revelatory Experience on the Place of Ministering in the Church

     While performing an endowment in the Manti Temple on September 25, 2025 I had a sudden strong, even overwhelming, spiritual insight.  Over the last few days, I had been agitated by the idea present in the Church that ministering visits to a family’s home might not be essential, if the assigned ministering brother occasionally greets a parent of the family in the hall at Church, if it is known that the family is doing well, and if the family doesn’t care or have any expectation of ministering visits in their home.  
    I had begun to think of a ministering brother as the official representative of the Church and of the Lord to that member family and to be responsible in visits to the family home to communicate to them that they are loved by the ward and the Church and by Heavenly Father, to identify and help supply any physical or spiritual need they might have, and either to respond personally to these needs or to inform and enlist the resources of the ward and Church in their behalf.
    While still puzzling over how to conceptualize and describe the ministering role, Wendy and I made a trip to perform endowments in the Manti Temple.  At the point in the ceremony where the ancient apostles, Peter, James and John, are directed by the Lord to be His messengers to present and administer the Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ covenant to session patrons, I was struck by a powerful spiritual message that this is the confirmation that I had been seeking with strong words of description  about the ministering assignment. And I understand that in the ancient Hebrew language the word messenger can be translated as angel.  This temple covenant, as I understand it, has to do with what the duties are of those who are Church members or in other words, disciples of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my ministering role is, as that of Peter, James, and John, to be THE SPECIAL MESSENGER OR ANGEL to my assigned Church families or persons, to assist them in becoming TRUE DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST.  How that is to be fully achieved I am not sure, but I am absolutely certain that saying “Hello” on occasional Sundays in a church hallway is not sufficient.

A musical history note on “harmonizing” while singing

    In my family, when growing up, we often sang songs as we traveled someplace.  My Dad was the only driver and sometimes would get impatient if Dorothy or I were making noise or being disruptive.  My mother had discovered that singing together seemed to solve that problem.  We would suggest and remember and sing songs with various topics, such as songs about the moon, or Irish or Scottish songs, or national anthems or songs with a patriotic theme or that name a city or state.  In fact we had sort of contests about who could remember and suggest the most songs of these or various other themes.
    So it was typical, as we were heading down the road to see grandparents in Bingen, or go to the dentist in White Salmon, or to have some business in Goldendale, etc., for us to be singing all the way.  One day when I was about 9 years old we happened to be singing “Now is the Hour, when we must say goodbye. Soon you’ll be sailing, far across the sea.  While you’re away, oh please remember me.  When you return you’ll find me waiting here.”  
    The impression came to me that there were harmony notes that I could sing, while someone else carried the melody.  So I began to feel and hear and sing a harmony part, probably a couple of steps above the melody.  From that day, I have had the talent to be able to improvise and sing harmony parts, to “harmonize” in singing.  I could anticipate and hear them in my mind and sing them as readily as I could carry and sing a melody.

Directing a Strong Temple and Family History Program in a Ward and Stake

 What is the place and standing of responsibility for temple and family history in the Church?  How is this work to be directed locally in our wards and stakes?

    Origins and keys and authority for temple and family history work is in the Melchizedek Priesthood (D&C 84:19-20)
    Keys for Priesthood authority were restored step by step
        1. Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist, D&C 13, May 15, 1929
        2. Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James and John, D&C 27:12  (June 1929?)
        3. Higher Melchizedek Priesthood Keys by Moses, (gathering of Israel), Elias (gospel of Abraham), Elijah (sealing power) April 3, 1836 D&C

What is the focus of each of these higher level Melchizedek Priesthood keys, and how is leadership exercised at the general Church level?

    Melchizedek Priesthood program leadership, oversite, and direction at general authority level, by three executive councils chaired by apostles
        – Missionary Executive Council chaired by Elder Uchdorf
        – Priesthood and Family Executive Council chaired by Elder Cook
        – Temple and Family History Executive Council by Elder Bednar 
    The Missionary Executive Council functions as “the extended arm of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for missionary work,” Elder Uchtdorf said. It focuses primarily on “proclaiming the gospel and making disciples” with the help of the current full-time missionaries worldwide, he said.
    The purpose of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council is “to prepare people to meet God,” Elder Cook said. “It is to perfect the Saints.”  The Relief Society, Young Women, Young Men, Primary and Sunday School organizations serve in collaboration with and under the purview of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, Elder Cook said.
    “Everything pertaining to the temples — the covenants, the ordinances, the operations and family history work — is the responsibility of the Temple and Family History Executive Council,” Elder Bednar said.  (From Church News article, 2021)
    
    Let’s look at the focus of these Melchizedek Priesthood keys at the local level.  How is leadership for these Melchizedek Priesthood programs to be exercised in the wards and stakes?  Specifically, how does this responsibility translate to leadership assignments and responsibilities for temple and family history work at the ward and stake levels?

  
Ward

    Let’s look first at the ward level.  This is where much of the action is.  The ward is probably the most critical place where leadership is required in order to make a difference in the efforts and lives of members of the Church of Jesus Christ for temple and family history work.  
    Sometimes our authorities speak of the “Ongoing Restoration.”   In the last decade or so, we have experienced some adjustments in how the how leadership for this work is to be organized.  Twenty years ago when I was serving as a Bishop, I had considerable oversight and we relied on the High Priests group leadership to direct temple and family history work in the ward.  In 2025, we are seeing at least three adjustments in this area.

1) The role of the ward Bishop has evolved.  He is still the presiding officer for the ward and chairs the overall leadership group in the ward, the Ward Council, but is focused more upon the youth of the ward as opposed to the Melchizedek Priesthood level programs of Perfecting the Saints, Missionary Work, and Temple and Family History Work.
2) Now there is a single Melchizedek Priesthood quorum in the ward, directed by an Elders Presidency, responsible for leadership in all aspects of Melchizedek Priesthood work, including the three critical program areas covered at the General church level by the three Executive Councils.
3) The position and responsibility of the ward Relief Society leadership has also been elevated to be parallel to that of the Elders Quorum presidency for the Melchizedek Priesthood level programs.

    Here is the current statement in the Church Handbook of Instructions regarding leadership responsibility in the ward for temple and family history work:

25.2.2  Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidencies
    The elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies lead the day-to-day temple and family history efforts in the ward (see 8.2.4 and 9.2.4). The elders quorum presidency leads these efforts for members of the elders quorum. The Relief Society presidency leads the efforts for members of the Relief Society. They work together to lead these efforts with the ward council, under the coordination of the bishop.

    Both of these presidencies will generally divide responsibilities for the three Melchizedek Priesthood program areas, with the president focused first upon the perfecting the saints functions and one of the counselors overseeing missionary work and the other counselor temple and family history work.  The elder’s counselor with the temple and family history assignment is identified also in the Handbook as the direct supervisor of a Melchizedek priesthood holder called in the ward to be temple and family history leader. 

25.2.3 Ward Temple and Family History Leader
    The ward temple and family history leader supports the elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies in their temple and family history responsibilities. He also has the following responsibilities:
   – Coordinate temple and family history efforts with ward organization leaders, including youth quorum and class presidencies.
   – Lead ward temple and family history coordination meetings (see 25.2.7).
   – Attend ward council meetings when invited.
   – Help the ward council develop and implement the ward temple and family history plan (see 25.2.6).
   – Instruct ward temple and family history consultants. Coordinate their efforts to help members find names of ancestors and perform temple ordinances on their behalf.
   – Work with the ward mission leader and the missionaries to help those learning the gospel, new members, and returning members engage in temple and family history work (see 23.2 and 23.3).
   – Where applicable, assign ward temple and family history consultants to serve in the FamilySearch Center (see 25.3.6).

    There is an option described in the handbook for the elders counselor to carry this assignment himself, if approved by the Stake President, but according to the advice of a brother who is serves in the executive level of FamilySearch, this is probably an option needed in branches and small wards but not the best arrangement in large Utah wards.  There may be at least two reasons why a different person than the elder’s counselor may be preferable for this position.  First, the elder’s quorum presidency carries a long list of responsibilities and a counselor in that presidency will likely have several areas of assignment and concern and therefore may not have the time and energy that is needed to devote to leading temple and family history work in the ward.  Secondly, having a separate temple and family history leader allows for the calling of a person with a greater amount of understanding and experience in these specialized areas.
    But in the case that the elders counselor is to fill that function, he would not need a separate call, sustaining, and setting apart.  His call and setting apart in the elders presidency would suffice, along with his designation for the assignment by the elder’s president.  Additionally, in a ward in which this position becomes vacant, responsibility for this function would automatically fall back upon the Elders Counselor until the position is again re-filled by the ward.
    In a ward where the ward Temple and Family History leader position is a separate ward calling, there is also not a need, if the position becomes vacant, for a Bishop to reconfirm this decision with the Stake President.  He has already has the authority or permission to work with the elder’s and Relief Society presidencies to identify and call a replacement.

What does it take for a ward temple and family history leader to be effective?  

    This is not a calling that is simple or easy.  Persons in this calling have the challenge of being subject to an organizational situation in which there is a considerable amount of overlapping responsibility and oversight.
    For example, the person filling the ward calling of Temple and Family History Leader is selected by the Bishop with input from the elder’s and Relief Society Presidents, called by the Bishopric, sustained by the ward membership, and set apart by a member of the Bishopric.  But, in the work he serves directly under a designated elders quorum counselor, is equally responsible to the elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies who in fact carry the major responsibility and assignment in a ward for temple and family history work. Also he answers to some degree to the Bishop and Ward Council, and also to the High Counselor who is the stake temple and family history leader.
    This individual, therefore, has the challenge to cause things to happen while in a subordinate organizational position to several different persons.  This challenge might be called “leading from beneath”.

    Two challenging outcomes seem to be needed for this leader to make things happen success administratively : 
    1) to be able to make good temple and family history things happen in the ward, and 
    2) to achieve unity, that is, agreement and commitment, with all persons with oversight responsibility.

    Skills needed to make temple and family history work happen:
1. Some people with highly developed family history research skills. 
2. Persons with effective administrative skills that combines “making things happen” and uniting people in an environment in which many persons have some partial responsibility and oversight.
    These are not always found in one person.  Maybe not even needed in a single person.
This suggests the need for a strong ward-level committee with several persons, who together have these skills.  

 

Evaluating the effectiveness of a ward temple and family history effort

    1. Do members of the Ward Council make temple and family history activities a priority, communicating strong support for ward temple and family history goals and being present at ward temple and family history functions, including ward temple nights? 
    2. Do the presidencies of the ward Elders Quorum and Relief Society fully understand their responsibilities  to provide the  leadership in the ward for temple and family history activities and efforts, and do members of the ward look primarily to these organizations for this leadership?  Do these presidencies provide some time in their Sunday meetings for consideration and discussion of ways in which their organization can fulfill its temple and family history leadership assignment?  Do these leaders treat their Sunday bimonthly sessions as more than a class time for a lesson but at least partly as a working session for one of the primary parts of the Church organization responsible for Melchizedek Priesthood temple and family history work?
    3. Does the ward have a Melchizedek Priesthood brother, called, sustained, and set apart and serving actively, as temple and family history leader?  (See note about the option for an Elders  Quorum counselor to fill this assignment.)
    4. What is the nature of the working relationships that exist in the ward between the temple and family history leader and the ward elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies?   Is the ward temple and family history leader clear in his understanding that the assigned elders quorum counselor is his direct file leader, and that secondarily he also takes direction from the assigned Relief Society counselor?  Are these presidencies fully united and active in their roles of directing temple and family history matters in the ward by overseeing the work of the temple and family history leader?  Does the temple and family history leader receive input and direction through periodic meetings with both the elder’s and Relief Society presidencies?
    5. Is the ward temple and family history leader in regular attendance at Elder’s Quorum meetings, to provide direction and promote this work? 
    6. Is the ward temple and family history coordinating committee fully staffed including at least one or more trained and knowledgeable family history research consultants, and also youth representatives?  Does the committee meet regularly, probably monthly?  
    7. Are ward members utilizing these consultants to improve their own family history research skills?  Do these consultants have training needs, and are they directed to family research training resources?  Do at least some of the consultants fulfill shift assignments at the FamilySearch Center?  Does the ward and its members make effective use of the FamilySearch Center resource, and especially the promoting and publicizing of training offerings?
    8. Does the ward have a temple and family history plan that represents a broad consensus and commitment across the entire ward?  Is the plan motivational in that it effectively promotes greater temple attendance and family history work by ward members, including children and youth?  Are designated ward temple nights and sessions scheduled and well-supported by ward members, including baptismal sessions for the youth?  Given the need and challenge of making temple appointments, are timely advanced notices provided to ward members for scheduled temple night sessions, probably three or four weeks in advance?  
    9. Is there some kind of planned outreach in the ward to encourage adults in the ward who are without current recommends to prepare go to the temple?  Is temple preparation training available?                              10.  If there are deficiencies or problems in ward implementation of the above, who should be responsible to make corrections? 

 Evaluating the effectiveness of a stake temple and family history effort
    1. Does stake leadership have a way to communicate strong support for temple and family history efforts and programs?    
    2. Is there a stake TFH coordinating committee organized that meets regularly (probably monthly), the chair being an assigned High Counselor (with oversight by a Stake Presidency counselor), and include the Stake Relief Society counselor, and at least one of two or more persons (including sisters) with extensive family history training and experience as consultants?    
    3. Does this coordinating committee place major emphasis on the training/functioning of ward TFH leaders and committees, also Relief Society and elders quorum leaders?  And is this emphasis also coordinated with other stake persons with oversight for ward TFH functioning (Stake High Counselors assigned to oversee wards and the Stake Relief Society Presidency)?  This may probably include:
    – Holding regular meetings (quarterly?) with ward temple and family history leaders
    – Monitoring the functioning of temple and family history work in each of the wards: 
        Do the ward Elders and Relief Society presidencies understand and exercise their temple and family history leadership responsibilities?
        Does each ward have a well-functioning temple and family history leader?
        Is the ward temple and family history committee fully staffed?
        Is there a good working connection in the ward between the Elders and Relief Society leaders and the temple and family history leader and committee?
        Does each ward temple and family history coordinating committee meet regularly (probably monthly)?
        Does the ward have a workable and motivational temple and family history plan that it is following?
        Are the training needs of ward temple and family history consultants met?
    4. Does this coordinating committee provide or promote temple and family history training programs for consultants and for stake members?
    – utilizing the FamilySearch system and other family history research resources
    – organizing temple and family history work in a ward
    5. Does this coordinating committee prepare and sponsor stake or interstake family history fairs/events to promote this work?
    6. Does this coordinating committee maintain TFH communication networks
        a. With ward TFH leaders (Elder counselors, Relief Society Counselors, ward TFH leaders
        b. FamilySearch Center training events and resources 
    7. Does this coordinating committee promote the linking of wards and the stake with the FamilySearch Center?
    – Communicate stake training needs to FamilySearch Center staff
    – Communicate FamilySearch Center training offerings to ward leaders (regular, monthly?) to successfully distribute this information to ward members
    – Meet stake assignments/requests for staffing the Center
    8. If the stake is agent stake for a local FamilySearch Center, do stake TFH leaders provide needed oversight, direction, and resources to assure the effectiveness of the Center.

Ward Temple and Family History Leader Options

    The Church Handbook of Instructions gives two options for the identification or establishing of a ward Temple and Family History leader.   The first is that of a ward calling.  This is to be a Melchizedek Priesthood holder, selected by the ward bishop, probably with the support of the Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents, and called by a member of the Bishopric, sustained in Sacrament Meeting, and set apart by a member of the Bishopric.  
    The second option is for a specified counselor in the Elders Quorum presidency to be assigned to carry that responsibility, if approved by the Stake President.  
    What are pros and cons between these two options?
    According to the opinion of a FamilySearch system administrator we know, the second option is probably provided for small wards and branches, but generally isn’t preferable for Utah-sized wards and stakes.  According to several Elders Presidents we queried, their presidencies have so many different responsibilities, their counselors would have difficulty in finding time to do this calling well.  And many Elders Counselors may not have the background or experience to provide the most effective leadership for temple and family history matters.  Finally, if a Elders Counselor option is used, continuity in leadership for temple and family history work in a ward will be compromised whenever new quorum leadership is called, which then eliminates the current temple and family history leader in the ward.

Dressing with Temple Standards

     I feel a great love for the several beautiful girls and young women in our Lewis family.  My most fervent hope is that they are being raised from their very infancy to value their own wonderful gift of womanhood.  As I recall, a part of this learning was central to Grandma JoAnn’s critical instruction to her daughters, as she trained them to achieve their highest life purposes.  This was concerning modesty of dress.  I recall Grandma JoAnn teaching her daughters that from their early childhood they should FOLLOW TEMPLE STANDARDS in the way that they dress. 
    I give praise to women and girls who dress modestly, which seems to me is a way for them to express their conviction and security in the unique and sacred expression of crucial womanly values, helping them to safe-guard these marvelous gifts regarding their own womanhood and of their family life, which includes the ability to bear children and to be a significant nurturer of these children and also of other persons in a Godly way.  I also praise men who support and value and live these standards.
    The world uses exceptions to the above to attract attention, admiration, or to message their rejection of family values.  Also, this standard seems to fly in the face of the Hollywoodish culture in our country and popular mass media that even gives praise to women for their daring in violating these standards.
    I am very grateful to have the privilege to wear the sacred temple garments of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  To me they are symbolic of much that is important in my own personal faith and serve in a sort of sacramental sense as a strong reminder of significant promises I have made to my Heavenly Father.  Here are specific instructions from the Church regarding the wearing of the temple garment:
    “When you put on your garment, you put on a sacred symbol of Jesus Christ.  Wearing it is an outward expression of your inner commitment to follow Him.  The garment is also a reminder of your temple covenants. You should wear the garment day and night throughout your life. When it must be removed for activities that cannot reasonably be done while wearing the garment, seek to restore it as soon as possible. As you keep your covenants, including the sacred privilege to wear the garment as instructed in the initiatory ordinances, you will have greater access to the Savior’s mercy, protection, strength, and power.”  (General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 26.3.3.2)
    I recall a couple of recent occasions when I was hospitalized for heart treatments and how lost and uncomfortable I felt not being able to wear my garments while being treated medically and how grateful I was when I was able to put them back on.  I felt whole again.
    Along with these other blessings, our temple garments also serve and provide us with standards for modesty in dress (both male and female).  They suggest, whether or not we have reached the age when we will make our temple covenants, that we should normally wear clothes that the entire midsection and private parts of our bodies be covered, including:
    1 –most of the upper chest and the upper back 
    2 –the shoulders and perhaps at least a slight part of the arms at the shoulder level
    3 –legs to the knees (the skirt length) or at least lower mid-thigh (for shorts, but knee length may be better)
    Also, we can assume that these clothes should not be so transparent, flimsy, or tight so as to reveal specific details of a person’s anatomy. 
    Regarding the many children and especially the beautiful girls and young women in the Lewis family, my fervent hope is that they are being taught modesty in dress in a way that was expressed by their Grandma JoAnn as a part of being trained to achieve their highest life purposes.  This is, that from their early childhood they are being taught, encouraged, and assisted to FOLLOW TEMPLE STANDARDS in the way that they dress.  I pray that we make that instruction a priority.

Come Follow Me Study of the Doctrine and Covenants

     I have found myself somewhat puzzled in the Church’s scriptural study this year regarding the Doctrine and Covenants.  Perhaps I have never studied this scripture as a whole before.  And there are magnificent and meaningful sections and passages.  Yet as a whole the sections seems somewhat fragmented and incomplete.  We continually get hints and pieces of doctrine, instructions and direction, but the whole picture doesn’t seem present in any one place.  Much of the content, especially in the beginning portions, seems to be a sort of spiritual coaching of the initial Church leaders at a quite specific and elemental level.  Perhaps this is not entirely applicable in our day having a more mature Church and leaders drawing upon many years of experience.
    It is fascinating however, to understand how these pieces coalesced by the time of Joseph Smith’s martyrdom to form the foundation for the unified, world-wide Church of Jesus Christ in our day.  It seems to me that there were two components in this development:
     1. The keys, authority and organizational patterns and structures needed to grow, operate, and  maintain a unified Church of Jesus Christ across the entire earth.
     2.  The gospel doctrines, practices, keys, and ordinances encompassing the entire range of needed earthly spiritual development for disciples of the Savior.
    These preparations came together in 1844 as Joseph instructed the Twelve Apostles and the Church as a whole, how succession in the Presidency would operate should he be taken, and also with the initiation of the higher ordinances of the Gospel in the Nauvoo (upper room of the Red Brick Store and Nauvoo Temple).

Easter’s Meaningfulness: Where the Rosary Meets the Restoration

 Easter’s Meaningfulness: Where the Rosary Meets the Restoration, By Laura Whitney
 April 11, 2025 https://publicsquaremag.org/faith/holidays/easter-traditions-two-christian-faiths/

    Approaching the Easter season, I reminisce about the Easter religious rituals from my Catholic childhood and their impact: how they prepared me to receive God’s restoration, and a deep desire to make Easter more meaningful in my life today.
    I was raised in a good home as a practicing Catholic. I went to mass each Sunday, CCD each Tuesday evening (religious education for children and youth), and regularly partook in the sacrament of confession to a parish priest. At age 7, I was given the sacrament of First Holy Communion, and at 14, the sacrament of Confirmation, to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Catholic tradition. I selected a confirmation or “new” name for myself to be received as part of that sacrament. In our daily life we regularly prayed together as a family, occasionally saying a rosary as well. My Mom often encouraged me to do both of those things on my own. Our Father, Hail Mary, and Grace before meals were regular prayers I said alone and with family. Christmas, with its preceding four-week Advent celebration looking forward to Christmas Eve mass and then Christmas day gifts, was always joyful and exciting. We lived in Northern Virginia for about 8 years of my childhood and would attend midnight mass as a family at the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. I have wonderful memories of those years.
    A strong focus each year of my youth as a Catholic was Easter and the preceding “Holy Week.” The Lent season starts with Ash Wednesday beginning a 40-day period of contemplation, simplifying, and fasting, and concludes on Holy Thursday. During this time, it is traditional to “give up” something of our worldly pleasures––in addition to not eating between meals and not eating meat on Fridays––in order to experience sacrifice on a personal level as we focus on Jesus’ sacrifice for us. As a child, I would usually choose something like chocolate or television to give up. Sundays were a “free” day where we could still partake of the thing we’d given up, which eased the difficulty of missing out on something I loved for what seemed like an eternity in the life of a young girl.
    I have joyed in having the faith of my youth and my faith in the restored Gospel intersect, overlap, and influence each other.
    Holy Week itself was a very sacred time in our home. We were not allowed to play with friends after school and were encouraged to simplify our lives with fewer activities where possible. It began with Palm Sunday which had more of a somber feel to me, but not in a negative way. It was a spirit of contemplation, sacrifice, and even sadness as I thought of what my Savior endured. Palm Sunday mass would commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, marked by a procession (the Priest in the role of Jesus) with the congregation waving palm branches, which we often kept. I still have a palm leaf folded into the shape of a cross that I display with other crosses during the Easter season.
    After enacting the entry, we would then present what is referred to as the “passion narrative” from the four Gospels in the New Testament. The priest would be Jesus, someone would be Pontius Pilate, and the congregation would be the crowd chanting, “Crucify Him!”.
We would also go to church on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and sometimes other days that week. The Good Friday services usually included reviewing the “Stations of the Cross.” Most Catholic churches have a series of 14 scenes depicting the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. The congregation would follow the priest to each depiction as the description was read.
    When I was 12, we moved back to our home state of California, where I attended Mater Dei (Latin for Mother of God) Catholic High School, developing my faith even more. After two years at college in Orange County, I transferred to Utah State University in Logan. While I was completely fulfilled and content with my faith at the time, most of my new friends were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we would have some wonderful conversations about faith and our beliefs. On Ash Wednesdays, I would come to class with ashes on my forehead, and it sparked some thoughtful and respectful questions from my friends.
    At the time, the Catholic church in town was a small and beautiful chapel on campus with dark wood inside and a Tudor-style brick exterior. I have profound memories of my first Holy Thursday service there and how deeply I felt the power of that day, that night, and what was to come. That is a sacred memory for me. The following day, Good Friday, it was raining. It was grey and bleak and such a perfect backdrop for me to spend the day thinking about Jesus on the cross at Calvary. Good experiences … At the same time, I feel hope … in the restored Gospel’s focus on the risen Christ
    Over the years, I had some friends, whom I deeply loved and trusted, share with me their beliefs in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We had many back-and-forth conversations about the nature of the Godhead, the full depth and breadth of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the authority of the Priesthood. I witnessed miracles, sought revelation, and badgered and begged my God for answers and guidance to my confusion and questions. I didn’t get them the way I wanted, but I knew He was there and with me on this journey. These conversations brought me to a point of believing some of the new things I was being taught but not quite feeling ready to fully embrace the restored Gospel, be baptized into a new church, and accept the personal and family challenges that would entail. I stopped attending mass but always kept Holy Week and Easter sacred in my mind and heart.
    Years later, at age 37, after taking the missionary discussions four times and having many refining experiences, I was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And for a few years, I felt an emptiness around Holy Week as my LDS friends carried on as normal. I knew it was supposed to be held sacred in my heart, so I would study the four Gospel accounts of that week in the New Testament on my own and try to keep the week simpler where I could, as I had in my youth. Eventually I realized the most appropriate place for me to be on Good Friday was in the temple. I would celebrate the sacrifice and mighty atonement of my Lord by being in His house, doing His work, and helping His children move forward.
    A few years ago, I noticed a trend … my friends wanted to know more about Holy Week. They would have a Passover dinner or focus on those same New Testament accounts of the days leading up to Easter. They were hungry for more. There were books being written about how to increase one’s understanding of Easter and deepen the experience of the season. In 2023 the Church announced our worship services on Easter would only include Sacrament Meeting, and Elder Stevenson from the General Conference pulpit proclaimed we needed to refocus on Easter and its surrounding events. He challenged us to make this as important a season in our homes as we do Christmas.
        I see the flecks of truth in my childhood experiences … At the same time, I feel hope … in the restored Gospel’s focus on the risen Christ.
    How I have joyed in having the faith of my youth and my faith in the restored Gospel intersect, overlap, and influence each other in beautiful, joyful, and harmonious ways. I have made intentional efforts, but also been blessed to have friends and family in many faith traditions and stages of faith influence those efforts in ways I didn’t always recognize at the time. Those efforts have been about combining the joy of the resurrection with the contemplative heaviness of Holy Week. My very life over the years has been that same combination of heaviness and joy, weeping and rejoicing––and it continues to gently and painfully fluctuate along that spectrum. As I know and appreciate my Savior’s sacrifice, pain, and triumph, I am better able to find joy in my own sacrifice and pain throughout life.
    As I spend time in the temple on Good Friday, I still struggle sometimes with a yearning from my youth to be more somber on this day. Inside me are deep contrasts: a dimly lit, dark wood chapel of over 30 years ago where the congregation chanted in song, “Watch and pray …” against the bright light, pure whiteness, and cheerful countenances found in the temple today. It can bring some loneliness, but I don’t want it to be like any other temple session––I don’t feel cheerful. So I think of how lonely my Savior felt in that Garden … on that Cross … and I know I am not alone. I know He appreciates my efforts to remember Him. To know Him.
    I loved growing up Catholic. When I think back on those years, I have nothing but gratitude for my mom’s encouragement and support in having a relationship with God. Prioritizing my relationship with my Father in Heaven over rituals and beliefs has allowed me to personalize my faith journey and be more intentional about worship, especially at Easter.  I see the flecks of truth in my childhood experiences of Catholic sacraments, taking a new name, and choosing––even embracing––sacrifice for what it is, sacred. At the same time, I feel the hope that is more evident in the restored Gospel’s focus on the risen Christ and joyful anticipation of His return.
    This year will mark ten years since the passing of my Dad, and just last week, I sat with a dear pet as she left this mortal life. So as Easter draws nearer, I can more fully appreciate the depths of Good Friday’s despair by understanding that Holy Saturday may have been a day of quiet sadness on this side of the veil, but it was a day of glorious work and teaching on the other. When I ache that my family and many of my friends and I don’t agree with each other on some very sacred things, I can find peace knowing there are so many things on which we can focus where we do meet each other in holy places of understanding and growth. And ultimately my hope lies in a deeper understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ—from Thursday to Sunday—as the path home for me and also for everyone I love. My Catholic youth has given me precious roots for my personal tree of knowledge and faith to withstand the winds and grow stronger in the light of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

    About the author: Laura Whitney is a Marriage & Family Therapist. She is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a hobby goat farmer and is a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

LDS Church growing at warp speed, sociologist says

LDS Church growing at warp speed, sociologist says
Original article published May 23, 1998, by Deseret News, Lee Davidson, Washington Correspondent

    Rodney Stark says fellow sociologists scoffed when he predicted 15 years ago that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could skyrocket to 267 million members by 2080.
    Now he says that estimate actually may be low. He said Friday in a speech to the Mormon History Association that in the years since he made his calculations, the church has grown even faster than his highest estimate.
    Stark adds that the growth has been even greater than that of early Christianity after Christ's death - which is making historians rethink early assumptions that spectacular mass conversions were needed for big boosts in membership anciently.
    Stark, who is not LDS, [but his parents are adult converts–REL] is a professor of sociology and comparative religion at the University of Washington. He wrote a paper 15 years ago that looked at possible growth in the LDS Church between 1980 and 2080.
    He made two separate calculations: one for growth of 30 percent a decade, and one for 50 percent. Both were less than the 61 percent average growth that the church had per decade from 1950 to 1980 - the three decades before he wrote his paper.
    "If the low estimate were to turn out right, then there would be 60 million Mormons in 2080. If the higher estimate was met, there would be 267 million Mormons in 2080. Exponential growth really does start accelerating. Either way, we've got a very significant world movement," Stark said.
    He noted such predictions "sent any number of my colleagues - and a rather surprising number of journalists - into absolute, extreme denial. But as I stand here today, it is possible to check up on the first 17 years of projections. And I'm low. The actual membership that the church reached in 1997 exceeds the high projected estimate for 1999," he said.
    He says such growth is especially interesting to sociologists studying how the early Christian movement could have become as large as it did as fast as it did.
    "What do we have to assume to get this (ancient) group from 1,000 members in the year 40 to about 6 million in the year 300?" Stark asked.
    He said many early historians and others assumed such growth would have required mass conversions, such as "people walking into the marketplace and preaching for 15 minutes and having 3,000 people jump up and say, `We're Christians.' "
    But Stark said, "I had an immense edge over other early church historians. I knew the compound interest formula. And I knew what the Mormons had done.
    "And the fact is, all you have to do is assume a rate of growth of 40 percent a decade to get from 1,000 to 6.5 million in 260 years - no miracles, no mass conversions required. This is a rate considerably below what the Mormons have been doing for the last 150 years."
    Stark said his studies of LDS Church growth, compared to some less successful movements, also made him rework some models of how conversion to successful, growing churches occurs and what kind of people are involved.
    For example, he said, too many sociologists assume that people who promote religion do so because "they're crazy or they're crooked. Maybe both."
    But he said as he watched the LDS Church and its members take care of his elderly parents, who had converted to the church in their old age, he saw them making sacrifice for the benefit of others, not personal benefit. When he asked why, he said they always told him that's what the church teaches.
    "So belief matters," he said.
    Also, Stark said he has observed that many new religions gain most converts among isolated people who have few personal relationships with others.
    But he said LDS Church conversion isn't "based on recruitment of isolates, but on networks" of family and friends. Every convert who comes in enlarges that network and also helps increase growth.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Rise_of_Mormonism/wO6Ui_48mRcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

                                   1990                      2000                   2025                   2050                    2100
Christian               1,747,461,964     1,999,564,000     2,616,670,000    3,051,564,000      3,800,099,000
LDS high est*          6,957,000              10,435,551         28,757,175         79,245,942          601,781,268
LDS low est**         6,029,000                7,837,208         15,100,153         29,093,858          108,004,354
LDS***                   7,761,000               11,100,000    abt 18,000,000    abt 35,000,000  abt 140, 000,000
Nonchristian         3,518,980,036      4,055,458,000    5,207,033,000     5,857,531,000      6,613,901,000
Muslim                    962,357,235      1,188,243,000    1,784,876,000     2,229,282,000      2,874,225,000
Hindu                      685,998,940          811,336,000    1,049, 231,000    1,175,298, 000     1,153,978,000
Chinese folk            347,651,252          384,807,000       448,843,000       454,333,000         475,183,000
Buddhist                  323,196,550          418,345,000       418,345,000       424,607,000         397,100,000
Ethnoreligions         200,035,408          277,247,000       277,247,000       303,599,000         323,995,000
Global Population   5,266,442,000     6,055,049,000    7,823,703,000    8,909,095,000    10,414,000,000

Rodney Stark projections:
*nearly tripling every 25 years
**doubling every 25 years
Current LDS*** projections [REL calculations]  at current rate

Women and their "keys" to bear the souls of men

    I came across a scripture passage that used the word keys in an interesting way.  The word keys typically is used in the Church to refer to privileges and capabilities of males.  The Church websight provides these insights into meanings we give the word keys:
    “With a set of keys, you can do a lot of things that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do—enter buildings, drive cars, and open trunks, among other things. Keys, basically, mean authority and access.  
    “The same is true of priesthood keys. They control access to the blessings and ordinances of the priesthood. These keys are mentioned frequently in the Church, but we may not always understand them, so here are a few facts about priesthood keys.  What are priesthood keys?
    “Priesthood keys are the right to preside over and direct the Church within a jurisdiction. Keys usually apply to a geographic area, like a ward, stake, or mission. They also usually include authority over specific ordinances and activities (for instance, baptism, the sacrament, missionary work, and temple work).”
    Reading in the Doctrine and Covenants, I found a usage of this word that seemed to be applied specifically to women.  In Section 132, at the end of a set of directions supplied by the Lord to Joseph Smith concerning temple marriage and also the institution in the early restored Church of plural marriage, I found a pair of verses which described that from “before the foundation of the world,” women were to hold the following keys, the power “to bear the souls of men” for “exaltation [of families] in the eternal worlds.”
    As I read this instruction, I was intrigued by the use of the same word that we generally use in the Church to describe priesthood authority with the singular ability of women to provide mortal bodies and basic mortal nurturance for Heavenly Father’s spirit children.  This made a connection for me with Valerie Hudson Cassler’s suggestion of the symbolism of the two trees in the Garden of Eden, the first tree representing the gift given to women to escort souls into mortality and the second being the gift to the sons of God to administer the ordinances of salvation and exaltation that lead souls back to God (for details see my book, The Higher Law, the Temple, and Families, pp. 124-125).
    Here are the specific verses:
       But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfill the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified.
       And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law.
(D&C 132:63-64)

Directing a Strong Temple and Family History Program in a Ward and Stake

 What is the place and standing of responsibility for temple and family history in the Church?  How is this work to be directed locally in our wards and stakes?

    Origins and keys and authority for temple and family history work is in the Melchizedek Priesthood (D&C 84:19-20)
    Keys for Priesthood authority were restored step by step
        1. Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist, D&C 13, May 15, 1929
        2. Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James and John, D&C 27:12  (June 1929?)
        3. Higher Melchizedek Priesthood Keys by Moses, (gathering of Israel), Elias (gospel of Abraham), Elijah (sealing power) April 3, 1836 D&C

What is the focus of each of these higher level Melchizedek Priesthood keys, and how is leadership exercised at the general Church level?

    Melchizedek Priesthood program leadership, oversite, and direction at general authority level, by three executive councils chaired by apostles
        – Missionary Executive Council chaired by Elder Uchdorf
        – Priesthood and Family Executive Council chaired by Elder Cook
        – Temple and Family History Executive Council by Elder Bednar
    The Missionary Executive Council functions as “the extended arm of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for missionary work,” Elder Uchtdorf said. It focuses primarily on “proclaiming the gospel and making disciples” with the help of the current full-time missionaries worldwide, he said.
    The purpose of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council is “to prepare people to meet God,” Elder Cook said. “It is to perfect the Saints.”  The Relief Society, Young Women, Young Men, Primary and Sunday School organizations serve in collaboration with and under the purview of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, Elder Cook said.
    “Everything pertaining to the temples — the covenants, the ordinances, the operations and family history work — is the responsibility of the Temple and Family History Executive Council,” Elder Bednar said.  (From Church News article, 2021)
    
    Let’s look at the focus of these Melchizedek Priesthood keys at the local level.  How is leadership for these Melchizedek Priesthood programs to be exercised in the wards and stakes?  Specifically, how does this responsibility translate to leadership assignments and responsibilities for temple and family history work the ward and stake levels?  


WARD
    Let’s look first at the ward level.  This is where much of the action is.  The ward is probably the most critical place where leadership is required in order to make a difference in the efforts and lives of members of the Church of Jesus Christ for temple and family history work.  
    Sometimes our authorities speak of the “Ongoing Restoration.”   In the last decade or so, we have experienced some adjustments in how the how leadership for this work is to be organized.  Twenty years ago when I was serving as a Bishop, I had considerable oversight and we relied on the High Priests group leadership to direct temple and family history work in the ward.  In 2025, we are seeing at least three adjustments in this area.

1) The role of the ward Bishop has evolved.  He is still the presiding officer for the ward and chairs the overall leadership group in the ward, the Ward Council, but is focused more upon the youth of the ward as opposed to the Melchizedek Priesthood level programs of Perfecting the Saints, Missionary Work, and Temple and Family History Work.
2) Now there is a single Melchizedek Priesthood quorum in the ward, directed by an Elders Presidency, responsible for leadership in all aspects of Melchizedek Priesthood work, including the three critical program areas covered at the General church level by the three Executive Councils.
3) The position and responsibility of the ward Relief Society leadership has also been elevated to be parallel to that of the Elders Quorum presidency for the Melchizedek Priesthood level programs.

    Here is the current statement in the Church Handbook of Instructions regarding leadership responsibility in the ward for temple and family history work:

25.2.2  Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidencies
    The elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies lead the day-to-day temple and family history efforts in the ward (see 8.2.4 and 9.2.4). The elders quorum presidency leads these efforts for members of the elders quorum. The Relief Society presidency leads the efforts for members of the Relief Society. They work together to lead these efforts with the ward council, under the coordination of the bishop.

    Both of these presidencies will generally divide responsibilities for the three Melchizedek Priesthood program areas, with the president focused first upon the perfecting the saints functions and one of the counselors overseeing missionary work and the other counselor temple and family history work.  The elder’s counselor with the temple and family history assignment is identified also in the Handbook as the direct supervisor of a Melchizedek priesthood holder called in the ward to be temple and family history leader.

25.2.3 Ward Temple and Family History Leader
    The ward temple and family history leader supports the elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies in their temple and family history responsibilities. He also has the following responsibilities:
   – Coordinate temple and family history efforts with ward organization leaders, including youth quorum and class presidencies.
   – Lead ward temple and family history coordination meetings (see 25.2.7).
   – Attend ward council meetings when invited.
   – Help the ward council develop and implement the ward temple and family history plan (see 25.2.6).
   – Instruct ward temple and family history consultants. Coordinate their efforts to help members find names of ancestors and perform temple ordinances on their behalf.
   – Work with the ward mission leader and the missionaries to help those learning the gospel, new members, and returning members engage in temple and family history work (see 23.2 and 23.3).
   – Where applicable, assign ward temple and family history consultants to serve in the FamilySearch Center (see 25.3.6).

    There is an option described in the handbook for the elders counselor to carry this assignment himself, if approved by the Stake President, but according to the advice of a brother who is serves in the executive level of FamilySearch, this is probably an option needed in branches and small wards but not the best arrangement in large Utah wards.  There may be at least two reasons why a different person than the elder’s counselor may be preferable for this position.  First, the elder’s quorum presidency carries a long list of responsibilities and a counselor in that presidency will likely have several areas of assignment and concern and therefore may not have the time and energy that is needed to devote to leading temple and family history work in the ward.  Secondly, having a separate temple and family history leader allows for the calling of a person with a greater amount of understanding and experience in these specialized areas.
    But in the case that the elders counselor is to fill that function, he would not need a separate call, sustaining, and setting apart.  His call and setting apart in the elders presidency would suffice, along with his designation for the assignment by the elder’s president.  Additionally, in a ward in which this position becomes vacant, responsibility for this function would automatically fall back upon the Elders Counselor until the position is again re-filled by the ward.
    In a ward where the ward Temple and Family History leader position is a separate ward calling, there is also not a need, if the position becomes vacant, for a Bishop to reconfirm this decision with the Stake President.  He has already has the authority or permission to work with the elder’s and Relief Society presidencies to identify and call a replacement.

    What does it take for a ward temple and family history leader to be effective?  
    This is not a calling that is simple or easy.  Persons in this calling have the challenge of being subject to an organizational situation in which there is a considerable amount of overlapping responsibility and oversight.
    For example, the person filling the ward calling of Temple and Family History Leader is selected by the Bishop with input from the elder’s and Relief Society Presidents, called by the Bishopric, sustained by the ward membership, and set apart by a member of the Bishopric.  But, in the work he serves directly under a designated elders quorum counselor, is equally responsible to the elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies who in fact carry the major responsibility and assignment in a ward for temple and family history work. Also he answers to some degree to the Bishop and Ward Council, and also to the High Counselor who is the stake temple and family history leader.
    This individual, therefore, has the challenge to cause things to happen while in a subordinate organizational position to several different persons.  This challenge might be called “leading from beneath”.

    Two challenging outcomes seem to be needed for this leader to make things happen success administratively :
    1) to be able to make good temple and family history things happen in the ward, and
    2) to achieve unity, that is, agreement and commitment, with all persons with oversight responsibility.

    Skills needed to make temple and family history work happen:
1. Some people with highly developed family history research skills.
2. Persons with effective administrative skills that combines “making things happen” and uniting people in an environment in which many persons have some partial responsibility and oversight.
    These are not always found in one person.  Maybe not even needed in a single person.
This suggests the need for a strong ward-level committee with several persons, who together have these skills.  Evaluating the effectiveness of a ward temple and family history effort

    1. Do members of the Ward Council make temple and family history activities a priority, with their vocal support for ward temple and family history goals and their presence at ward temple and family history functions, including ward temple nights?
    2. Do the presidencies of the ward Elders Quorum and Relief Society fully understand their responsibilities  to provide the  leadership in the ward for temple and family history activities and efforts, and do members of the ward look primarily to these organizations for this leadership?  Do these presidencies provide some time in their Sunday meetings for consideration and discussion of ways in which their organization can fulfill its temple and family history leadership assignment?
    3. Does the ward have a Melchizedek Priesthood brother, called, sustained, and set apart and serving actively, as temple and family history leader?  (See note about the option for an Elders  Quorum counselor to fill this assignment.)
    4. What is the nature of the working relationships that exist in the ward between the temple and family history leader and the ward elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies?   Is the ward temple and family history leader clear in his understanding that the assigned elders quorum counselor is his direct file leader, and that secondarily he also takes direction from the assigned Relief Society counselor?  Are these presidencies fully united and active in their roles of directing temple and family history matters in the ward by overseeing the work of the temple and family history leader?  Does the temple and family history leader receive input and direction through periodic meetings with both the elder’s and Relief Society presidencies?
    5. Is the ward temple and family history coordinating committee fully staffed including at least one or more trained and knowledgeable family history research consultants, and also youth representatives?  Does the committee meet regularly, probably monthly?  
    6. Is the ward temple and family history leader in regular attendance at Elder’s Quorum meetings, to provide direction and promote this work?
    7. Are ward members utilizing these consultants to improve their own family history research skills?  Do these consultants have training needs, and are they directed to family research training resources?  Do at least some of the consultants fulfill shift assignments at the FamilySearch Center?  Does the ward and its members make effective use of the FamilySearch Center resource, and especially the promoting and publicizing of training offerings?
    8. Does the ward have a temple and family history plan that represents a broad consensus and commitment across the entire ward?  Is the plan motivational in that it effectively promotes greater temple attendance and family history work by ward members, including children and youth?  Are designated ward temple nights and sessions scheduled and well-supported by ward members, including baptismal sessions for the youth?  Given the need and challenge of making temple appointments, are effective and timely advanced notices provided to ward members for scheduled temple night sessions, probably three or four weeks in advance?  
    9. Is there some kind of planned outreach in the ward to encourage adults in the ward who are without current recommends to prepare go to the temple?  Is temple preparation training available?

STAKE
How are the stakes that are providing effective temple and family history leadership organized?
Is there a committee or coordinating group that meets with High Counselor chair (and oversight by Stake Presidency counselor), includes some persons (including sisters) with extensive family history training and experience, also Stake Relief Society counselor.

What is the major focus?
    1. Training/functioning of ward temple and family history leaders and committees, also Relief Society and elders quorum leaders
    Responsibility of
            – Stake High Counselors assigned to oversee wards
            – Stake Relief Society Presidency Counselor for temple and family history            – Stake High Counselors for temple and family history
            – Stake temple and family history specialists
    Hold regular meetings (quarterly, monthly?) with ward temple and family history leaders
    Monitor functioning of temple and family history work in each of the wards
        Do the elders and Relief Society presidencies understand and exercise their temple and family history leadership responsibilities?
        Is the ward temple and family history committee fully staffed?
        What is the working connection between the elders and Relief Society leaders and the temple and family history leader and committee?
        Does the ward temple and family history coordinating committee meet regularly (probably monthly ?
        Does the ward have a workable and motivational temple and family history plan that it is following?
        What are the training needs of ward temple and family history officers?
    Perform needed training
    Refer to FamilySearch Center for training
    2. Preparing possible Stake sponsored family history fairs/events
    3. Linking wards and the FamilySearch Center
        Communicate stake training needs to FamilySearch Center staff
        Communicate FamilySearch Center training offerings to ward leaders (regular, monthly?) to distribute to award members
        Meet stake assignments for staffing the Center
    The stake temple and family history leader (High Counselor) has some of the same challenges as ward temple and family history leaders, that is, how to make needed things happen in a situation in which he does not have the major direct supervision or oversight responsibility and may not possess many of the direct family history research skills.
    – Be a doer and an organizer, reach out for cooperation of others who have this oversight, especially the High Counselors who supervise the ward Elders quorums and also the Stake RS counselor for TFH.
    – Promote the creation of a stake temple and family history committee/coordinating group  with at least a couple of consultants, well trained in family history research.
    – Follow the lead of the SF East stake with monthly meetings with all adult ward committee members, with a duel focus of making things happen and training ward consultants. 

FAMILYSEARCH CENTER
    One stake in Church area, the Agent stake, supervises and supports our local FamilySearch Center and its leadership.
    The Stake assigns a High Counselor to oversee and support the Center Director, possibly the one with the temple and family history leader assignment, and with oversight by the Stake President’s Counselor:
    – Call Center leadership staff
    – Maintain regular contact with the Center leadership
    – Ensure that the Center has resources to fulfill its mission, that is budget, housing, technical support, equipment, and especially, sufficient consultant staff
    – Identify unmet needs and prepare strategies to address these issues
    – Ensure that effective communication channels exist between Center and related stakes and wards
    – Obtain feedback about needs and problems regarding family history work in Center and in wards/stakes
    – Develop mechanisms for all stakes and wards to receive and distribute timely information about Center training offerings

    The agent Stake President will present the Center budget to the area Correlating Council  (Presidents of Spanish Fork stakes), yearly or more often as needed.  At this time it would probably also be useful for him to have with him his Counselor who is over temple and family history, the High Counselor who oversees the Center, and the Center Director, to make any needed introductions, to briefly communicate Center services and identify possible needs of the Center to fulfill its mission, and to ask for feedback as to ways the Center might better serve the needs of the Stakes.

Our Lewis Family Witnesses to the Inspired Leadership Pattern in the Church

    Did you know that our family has direct ancestors who were present at the wonderful spiritual manifestation that established the inspired leadership pattern for the Church and left their witness of its reality and truthfulness?  The apostolic and prophetic leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ has the authority and capability to direct the work of God effectively worldwide in a single united effort, given its revealed pattern and with modern communication and transportation resources.  At the beginning of the latter-day Gospel restoration, this pattern was revealed gradually, culminated by a miraculous confirmation of this Godly leadership pattern at the time of Joseph Smith’s martyrdom and succession. This leadership pattern is unique in this capability.  No other religious organization in the world has the ability to provide this united global direction to the work of the church.  The rest of the Christian world is desperately and irretrievably fragmented.  For example, the Center for Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary estimates that there are currently 47,000 different evangelical Protestant denominations.
    There seems to be a tendency in religious movements for ambitious persons to rise and draw off people to their own discipleship and organization.  Noel Reynolds, writing about the problems in the New Testament branches of the church established by the Christ’s apostles, “early Christians in disarray”, concludes the New Testament church was an immature or “Kirtland” church made up of new converts, who were drawn to the new religion, but seemed easily swayed by competing ideas and contention.  In “city after city where Paul and other missionaries had established branches of the church, fast-talking and self-appointed men began to take over and exploit the faith of [their] converts for their own material and even lascivious benefit... The faithful often seem to no longer be in control of the local situation... As we reflect on the administrative problems the early church faced, we have to be impressed with the impossibility of their task.  No branch of the church had the benefit of experienced, second-generation leadership.  Paul and the other apostles were themselves converts, with no established tradition or well of practical wisdom to draw on...”
    “The early church had no monthly reporting system and no instant communication... Crises came and went on the local level without any intervention or guidance from the general authorities of the church... Travel was slow, dangerous and difficult... The trials of faithful and humble Christians must have been excruciating as they witnessed the demise of Christ’s church at the hands of self-promoting and entrepreneurial fellow members who strove with one another for dominance...”  (pp. 356-357, Early Christians in Disarray, FAIR/BYU, 2005)
    In our day, the Church of Jesus Christ restored by God through the Prophet Joseph Smith had some similar organizational challenges and problems in its first few years in Kirtland and also in Nauvoo.  The restored Church was made up of many fine, new converts, who were drawn spiritually to the new religion, but seemed easily swayed by competing ideas and contention, and lacked understanding of an effective pattern for unity and for leadership succession.  
    Elements of the pattern for overall leadership of a single united world-wide Church of Jesus Christ appeared to have begun to be revealed and practiced in the New Testament Church of Christ’s apostles (see Acts 1:22-26 and 15:1-29 in the replacement of Judas as one of the twelve apostles and the decision on whether Gentile converts needed circumcision).  More direction regarding this overall pattern of general leadership of the restored Church of Jesus Christ was recorded in the Doctrine & Covenants in 1835 (section 107:22-24)   It involved having 15 High Priests in two leadership quorums (a First Presidency of three and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) whose membership in these two fully united quorums consisted of individual men who each when ordained to the apostleship had received all of the keys of the Kingdom, but who were to exercise presidential leadership according to seniority.  (Initially this was determined to be by age but in later years by dates of ordination and length of quorum membership).   Also, it was required that for policies of these two quorums to be valid, their decisions as a quorum must be unanimous (D&C 107:27).
    If the Quorum of the First Presidency became disorganized due to the death of the quorum leader and Prophet, leadership of the Church then devolved upon the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with the senior apostle as leader.  Then the First Presidency is reorganized with the senior apostle as Church president and prophet.  These two quorums are equal in authority; but when both are organized, the First Presidency presides.
    While the overall pattern for Church leadership was given in 1835, more detailed instruction regarding its implementation seems to have been gradually revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith, and only fully taught even to Quorum of the Twelve, with Brigham Young as senior apostle, in the months just preceding Joseph’s death. (references: Orson Hyde, Statement about Quorum of the Twelve, circa Late March 1845,” josephsmithpapers.org. For more on the context of this statement, see Matthew J. Grow, Ronald K. Esplin, Mark Ashurst-McGee, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, and Jeffrey D. Mahas, eds., Administrative Records: Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846. Vol. 1 of the Administrative Records series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Ronald K. Esplin, Matthew J. Grow, and Matthew C. Godfrey (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 65–66, 378–80)
    At that time it would seem that many members of the newly restored Church had not completely understood the process of leadership succession in the case of the loss of the Church President and Prophet.  Even Sidney Rigdon of the First Presidency, the prophet’s wife, Emma, and son, Joseph III, did not fully grasp this pattern.  
    When the Prophet Joseph Smith was murdered in Nauvoo, Illinois, in June 1844, Elder Young and most of the apostles were scattered in various parts of the United States promoting Joseph’s candidacy for U. S. President.  When most quickly returned to Nauvoo, they were met with Sidney Rigdon, counselor in the First Presidency, promoting himself to be the Church’s leader.  At a hastily called meeting of Church membership on August 8, 1844, Brigham Young re-taught the gathered saints the revelation of the Lord regarding succession in the Church presidency by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  And this pattern was confirmed spiritually by a mighty heavenly miracle, which then the members of the Church sustained by vote.
    In this meeting, as he was speaking, President Young was transfigured so that the audience miraculously saw not his image but instead the person of Joseph Smith and also heard Joseph’s voice and manner of speaking even to the point of a lisp that Joseph had from a partially broken tooth that had happened at an earlier time when his enemies had tried to force his taking some poison.  
    We need to remember and have gratitude that three of our very own family ancestors participated in and testified of this miraculous confirmation of the pattern of priesthood succession and leadership in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, which is so necessary for the furtherance of God’s kingdom in our day.  
    Here is our own wonderful family testimony of this revelation and manifestation provided by my great-grandmother, Martha Ann Townsend Lufkin [REL], written by my aunt Dorothy Hall,  after the time she had moved as a young women from Oregon to Utah to attend BYU.
    “[James Foss Townsend, his wife Susan Davis Townsend, and daughter Martha Ann Townsend] were in Nauvoo at the time of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and were present at the meeting when the mantle of Joseph fell upon Brigham Young. This happened at a meeting at Nauvoo on the afternoon of 8 Aug. 1844.  It was concerning the matter of authority and who now would lead the church.
    “Joseph Fielding Smith, in his book “Essentials of Church History” tells about it in this way: President Brigham Young addressed the congregation.  He spoke with great power and the people were convinced that the authority and power of presiding was with the apostles (quorum of the twelve).   When he first arose to speak, the people were astonished for President Young stood transfigured before them and they beheld the Prophet Joseph Smith and heard his voice as naturally as ever they did when he was living.  It was a manifestation to the saints that they might recognize the correct authority...
    “In 1926, when I (Dorothy Hall) visited my cousin Mattie Barron Norton in Salt Lake City she told me of a time when she was visiting our grandparents in Logan.  One day as she watched our grandmother (Martha Ann Townsend Lufkin) make biscuits, she also listened to her tell stories of Nauvoo.  Mattie told me that Grandma was about twelve years old but remembered the meeting very well and [stated that] it was true as reported.  She told Matttie to remember what she said and to tell others as she had the chance.  It was additional testimony to her the L.D.S. church was true.” (Dorothy D. Hall, “Histories of Parents and Grandparents and some other ancestors of Kate Naomi Lufkin Davenport”, 1986, handwritten document, pp. 27-28)

Sacrament meeting talk

                         Sacrament Meeting Talk, Wolf Hollow 2nd ward, ?? September 2024
    In a conversation reported in the Book of Matthew which occurred shortly before crucifixion of Christ there was an interesting question asked and marvelous answer given.  The question was asked of the Savior by a hostile Pharisee lawyer.  He seemed to be trying to trap Christ in saying something that might possibly give the Jewish leaders the excuse to kill him.  He asked the Savior the question of which of all the commandments of the Jewish law was the greatest.  (Over the years, Jewish scholars had identified 613 commandments in the law of Moses and loved to debate their relative importance.) Which was the greatest?  Jesus gave an answer that totally silenced his accusers, but also provided a grand summary of the duties of persons striving to obey God, which we  call the Two Great Commandments.  He said,
    “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment...  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt 22:37, 39)
    While the Two Great Commandments prioritize and elevate these loving duties, we still need to ask additional questions about the totality of God’s commandments:
        – What does God expect of those beings who are His spirit sons and daughters?
        – What are our duties as members of His Church?  
        – What does God expect of us as we strive to be disciples of Jesus Christ?  
    These are important questions.  And they are answered in a variety of ways in the scriptures and by Christ and the prophets of his Church.  They are communicated to us utilizing a variety of words, concepts and perspectives.  These explanations are not inconsistent or contradictory, but form a broad pattern for us to try to understand and follow.  Often these responses utilize words or concepts of symbolism.  The use of symbolism is in fact a blessing in that it allows God to instruct us through His Spirit in ways that He knows that fits our status in life at this time, our current spiritual perspectives and needs.
    As an example, the Book of Mormon prophet Alma teaches (in Alma 32) that there are two progressive levels for a person’s expression of faith and obedience and couches this in a most interesting gardening metaphor.  I relate to this, being a not always successful amateur backyard gardener and backyard orchardist myself.  He says that first of all that you need to plant the seed of faith.
    At the start, before planting seeds in a garden one must prepare the soil, including pulling or removing weeds that may encroach upon the garden growing space.  Pulling weeds might be called repentance.  Recently, President Nelson called upon us make “daily repentance” a part of our lives.  The initial process for our coming to God is to arrive at a belief in him and his commandments, recognize those areas in which we fall short, make needed changes (repentance), and be baptized.  Our 4th Article of Faith says, “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are, first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second, Repentance, third, Baptism...” and so forth.  This step entitles us to membership in His Church, to the forgiveness for the sins we have committed, and to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost will then confirm the remission of our sins and bless us in a great many other ways, including support for all the further steps in our progress toward God.
    We will never outgrow the need to continue to pull weeds (repent), as President Nelson has reminded us, when we make mistakes or as we deepen our understanding of Heavenly Father’s commandments,.  And as we do this, the companionship of the Holy Ghost will continue with us and testify of our continuing standing with God as being in a state of grace or forgiveness.
    This initial step on the strait and narrow path is foundational for all other kinds of spiritual growth.  It is described by the prophet Alma as planting the seed of faith (Alma 32:28) and confirming that this was a “good seed” (Alma 32:30-32).  But that is just a successful beginning.  According to Alma, there is a further second process that the gardener must undertake to reap the fruit of this initial planting.  Otherwise, he says, “if you neglect the tree and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root, and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it... it withers away and ye pluck it up and cast it out.” (Alma 32:38)
    So, there exists a second process that is required so as create “a tree springing up unto everlasting life,” in order for us to reap and feast upon the fruit of our spiritual gardening.
    Alma says “But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.
    “And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.” (Alma 32:41-42)
    This is the process of full salvation (or better stated, exaltation), the progressive development available to each of us who are followers of Christ, to become “a just and holy being,” as Joseph Smith taught in the Lectures on Faith.  It is learning how to become “partakers in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), and to acquire the very characteristics of Christ, “but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3, also see Moroni 7:48)
    There is often a difference in the way that these two processes are expressed.  The first might be thought of as represented by the Ten Commandments, eight out of ten of which are presented as “Thou Shalt Nots,” things that you should not be doing.   The second process is generally stated more positively as “Thou Shalts”, and is succinctly defined as we have just noted, by Christ as the Two Great Commandments, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart...[and] thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt 22:37-39). This difference is suggestive of the Mosaic law as opposed to the higher law of Christ and also of the distinction between the Aaronic priesthood or preparatory gospel and that which is administered by the Melchizedek priesthood:
    Quoting from Doctrine and Covenants 84: “And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
    “Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
    “And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
    “For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.”  (D&C 84:19-22)
    With the language changing from a negative to a positive, “thou shalts” rather than “thou shalt nots”, this seems to suggest an increased emphasis on growth, development, improvement, and enlargement.  In this second process, there are specific positive laws and principles for us to master and incorporate into our very being, the essential qualities that encompass the two broad Thou Shalts of the Two Great Commandments, even the very characteristics of Jesus Christ himself.  These detailed instructions are especially found in the principles or laws, and the ordinances and the covenants of our temple endowment.  President Ezra Taft Benson has taught, “The celestial kingdom, residence of God, our Eternal Father, is comprised of men and women who have complied with divine law...  They are just men [and women] made perfect through the mediation and atonement of Jesus Christ... They are obedient to celestial law...  Celestial laws, embodied in certain ordinances belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ, are complied with by voluntary covenants.  The laws are spiritual.  Thus, our Father in Heaven has ordained certain holy sanctuaries, called temples, in which these laws may be fully explained, the laws include the law of obedience and sacrifice, the law of the gospel [of Jesus Christ], the law of chastity, and the law of consecration.” (Ezra Taft Benson, A Vision and Hope for the Youth of Zion, April 12, 1977 BYU address)
    So, for hopeful and committed disciples of Jesus Christ, the progressive mastery of these highest celestial laws, as taught in endowment covenants in our temples, aided by the Spirit and supported by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, constitute the second component of our progress as His disciples, toward our divine destiny.
    In our quest for spiritual development and progress, we must both pull the weeds that sprout and grow in our personal garden and most critically, we must also plant and nourish our personal tree of eternal life, and especially learning better and perfecting how to love God and other persons.  Absolutely central and critical to this is our mastering the ability to treat other persons in a Christ-like way, loving, respecting, appreciating, forgiving, building, supporting, comforting, while also modeling the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our every action.
    I so testify, in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

THE LAW OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST (THE DUTIES OF DISCIPLES/BAPTIZED MEMBERS)

         Recently in discussions with my extended family regarding our studying of the Book of Mormon, I suggested a focus for myself–this is, better defining and understanding of  the new law or covenant that replaced the law of Moses as alluded to in 3 Nephi 12 and beyond.  It might be thought of as a companion to the new law of sacrifice described in 3 Ne 9:19-21 (also Romans 12:1), and could be called the higher law, the celestial law, the law of the gospel, or the law of the Church. (Hint: the answers may help us better understand some of the covenants we make in the temple).  
         I got started on this question several years ago by our former temple president, Pres. Sonne, who challenged us in a temple worker preparation meeting that we ought to study for ourselves and learn what the covenant to keep the Law of the Gospel meant, that it was at that time the only one of the temple endowment covenants that was not defined in the endowment process itself, and that we ought to know what we are covenanting to do.  (Note: There has been a recent clarification which appears to confirm the discussion that follows.)  He then pointed us to 3 Nephi 12-14 for the answers, which, of course, is a discussion by the Savior about the new, higher law that was replacing the Law of Moses.
          Jeffrey M. Bradshaw introduces his discussion of the Law of the Gospel in this way: “Although in a general sense, “the law of the Gospel embraces all laws, principles, and ordinances necessary for our exaltation, “the interpretive context of the temple specifically brings to mind pointed instructions relating to Christlike behavior toward one’s fellow man” (Jeffrey M. Bradshaw,  http://www.templethemes.net/publications/Meridian/100422-The%20Five%20Celestial%20Laws.pdf, p. 6).  Along the same vein, Elder James Talmadge, in his study of the temple defines this law as “being charitable, benevolent, tolerant, and pure,” (James E Talmadge, The House of the Lord: a Study of Holy Sanctuaries Ancient and Modern (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1912), 100)
         Similarly, here is a definition provided by Professor Hugh Nibley.  The law of the Gospel “puts restraints on personal behavior, it mandates deportment, self-control to make oneself agreeable to all.”  (p. 481)
         Nibley then provides this historical perspective on the giving of the gospel law:  “The gospel was given to Adam and Eve when “after many days” of sacrificing, “an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam” and taught him the plan of salvation (Moses 5:6-9).  Adam and Eve joyfully embraced it and taught to their children (see Moses 5:10-12).  But Satan came among them, saying:... Believe it not;,,, and men began to from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish” (Moses 5:13).  The gospel entails a definite pattern or style of life best defined as the opposite of “carnal, sensual, and devilish.”  One of the charges or responsibilities connected with adherence to the gospel is reiterated in the “Olive Leaf” revelation: “Organize yourselves;... establish a house, even a house of prayer... Therefore, cease from all your light speeches, from all laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride and light-mindedness, and from all your wicked doings (D&C 88:119, 121)   (Hugh Nibley, Of the Sacred and the Symbolic” and “Abraham’s Temple Drama,” in Stephen D. Ricks, ed., Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley: Vol 17, Salt Lake: FARMS/Deseret Book, 2008,  pp. 481, also 357-360.)
         The initial general-sense definition in Bradshaw’s article is a direct quote from President Benson, and seems to be echoed by other prophets and authorities, so certainly could be taken as the final and correct answer to the definitional question.  In the context of the temple however, I wonder along with Jeffrey Bradshaw, Elder Talmadge, and Hugh Nibley if a more specific meaning might be intended.  After all, most of the other covenants are quite specific.  Why would they need to be specified if this other law were to be understood to be quite comprehensive across all principles, etc.?  Note Jeffrey Bradshaw’s suggestion that this law might point primarily to how we treat other persons and Nibley’s that it had to do with our deportment in relations to others.  That seems to me to be consistent with President Sonne’s hint that we might find the answers in 3 Nephi 12-14.  These chapters are the New World version of the Biblical Sermon on the Mount, in which the Savior lists a series of directions for how his followers should live in contrast to specific rules under Mosaic Law.  These are higher laws and seem largely to pertain to how those of us have been baptized into Christ’s church should act and also think and feel in relationship to others.  Analyzing the focus of most of the other temple endowment covenants, with the exception of the law of chastity the focus seems largely on our personal response to the needs of the Kingdom.  Yet much of other higher level Gospel instruction in other contexts suggests a critical role for relationships.  For example,
         – Charity, the highest virtue, is all about our attitudes and treatment of others.
         – The finest of the members of the Church can be identified by their “peaceable walk with the children of men.” (Moro 7:3-4)
         – Salvation is for individuals, but the highest glory, exaltation, includes relationships with family.
         Perhaps then it would be reasonable and fitting that at least one of the temple endowment covenants be focused upon how our Father wants us to learn to treat to each other, about how to develop and maintain holy or Christlike relationships.
    To study further the meaning of the Law of the Gospel, I looked at several scriptural sources, in all of which we are taught the moral laws that are to be obeyed by disciples of Christ, those who have accepted by the covenant of baptism into His church.  They are found in
1) 3 Nephi 12-14, in which the Savior teaches the Nephites about the new covenant or higher law that replaced the Law of Moses,
2) the parallel chapters in the Bible about the same topic (Matthew 5-7),
3) Romans chapters 12-13 in which Paul discussed the moral laws of the gospel for persons who have become Christians with the grand summing up of all these commandments being the Golden Rule (Rom. 13:9),
4) 2 Nephi 26:29-32 where Nephi briefly recites the Lord’s commandments to the laborer in Zion,
5) D&C 42, in which the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph the “Law of the Church” (see the section heading and also verses 2 and 69),
6) Mosiah 18:8-10 (and the remainder of chapter 18), where the prophet Alma explains to persons he is preparing to baptize the covenant they are making,
7) Alma 5, in which Alma provides much detail about what is expected of members of the Church
8) King Benjamin’s instruction to Church members, Mosiah chapters 4 and 5.
9) Scriptural description of Zion-like communities of saints, where all the people “were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness”:
    –Enoch’s city of Holiness or Zion (Moses 7)
    –Nephite society for more than a century after Christ’s visit (4 Nephi 1-18)
    –New Testament apostolic church for a brief period (Acts 2:42-47)
    Here are my groupings of the various commandments and directions that are contained in these scriptures:

The Law of the Gospel: The Nineteen Commandments
1    Be one body in Christ, united with other believers in a Christian community that regularly and together pledges faithfulness to Christ;
Love one another
In your local Christian community (branch/ward/stake) minister to the spiritual and temporal needs of other members and contribute to a Zion-like spirit
Serve faithfully in the offices of the Church
Labor for Zion, not for gain or the praise of the world  Rom.12:4-8, 10
Mosiah 18:8-10
2 Ne. 26:29-31 Moses 7
4 Nephi 1-18
Acts 2:42-47

2    Preach/share the gospel
Stand as a witness of God at all times and in all places    D&C 42:6-15
Mosiah 18:8-10

3    Not kill     D&C 42:19
Rom. 13:9
2 Ne. 26:32

4    Not steal     D&C 42:20
Rom. 13:9
2 Ne. 26:32

5    Not lie     D&C 42:21
Rom. 13:9
2 Ne. 26:32

6    Not covet    Rom. 13:9
2 Ne. 26:32

7    Avoid ill-feeling and ill-speaking to others:
Prohibition against anger, ill-speaking and ridicule of brethren (Lord’s Anointed) and others  
Manage and redirect feelings of anger, hatred, vengeance, covetousness/greed
Avoid provocative language     
Be slow to be offended, avoid quarrels and contention
Deal in Christ-like way with those who give offense to you        Matt 5:21-22
3 Ne 12:21-22
D&C 42:27
D&C 42: 88-92
2 Ne. 26:32

8    Heal relationships:
Go more than half-way to resolve differences
Foundational to other religious practices; do first; do quickly
Reconciliation is required before proceeding with other religious practices    Matt 5:23-26
3 Ne 12:23-26

9    Be quick to forgive
Love neighbor/enemies, no vengeance        
Be forgiving of others, tolerant of others’ weaknesses
Not be judgmental of others
Love others and weep for those who die     Matt 5:38-47 Matt 6:14-15 Matt 7:1-5, 12 Rom 12:14-15, 17-21
3 Ne 12:38-45
3 Ne 13:16-18
3 Ne 14:1-5
D&C 42: 44-45

10    Spiritual integrity, fully committed to God and righteousness, in actions, feelings, and thoughts
Not light minded
Steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works
Blameless, humble, stripped of pride and envy    Matt 5:29-30 Matt 6:19-24
3 Ne 13:19-24
3 Ne 14:13-27
Mosiah 5:15
Alma 5:28-29

11    Actions/behaviors are motivated by love of God and charity, as opposed to fear of punishment or to be admired by other persons
Be charitable privately
Fast and pray privately     Matt 6:1-6, 16-18
3 Ne 13:1-6

12    Chastity, be faithful to marital covenants
Be holy, cleanse mind of lustful and impure thoughts, the desire for unrestrained sexual gratification, or using another for selfish exploitation    Matt 4:27-28
3 Ne 12:27-30 D&C 42:22-26, 74-77
2 Ne. 26:32

13    Love spouse with all thy heart; cleave unto her/(him) and none else
Marriage not to be dissolved lightly
Take good care of and provide for your children,
Teach them to walk in truth and soberness, to not fight and quarrel with one another, to love and serve one another    D&C 42:22
Matt 5:31-32
3 Ne 12:31-32
Mosiah 4:14-15

14    Oaths should be Yes Yes and No No    
Avoid vulgar or obscene language
Not take God’s name in vain     Matt 5:33-37
3 Ne 12:33-37
2 Ne. 26:32

15    Appearance/clothing not ostentatious
Dress modestly
Clean  
Not boisterous, or display loud laughter
Walk honestly, not in rioting, drunkenness, wantonness, strife and envy
Eat healthily, abstain from harmful substances    Rom. 12:13
D&C 42:40-41
Alma 5:53
D&C 89

16    When praying, express feelings honestly, not vain repetitions
Be prayerful continually    Matt 6:7-13
Rom. 12:12
3 Ne 13:7-13

17    Not be idle,
Work to provide for self
Owe no-one anything    D&C 42:42
Rom. 13:8

18    Generosity with own resources, impart of substance to poor
Not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish    D&C 42:30-39 Rom. 12:13  2 Ne. 26:30-31

19    Be subject to higher earthly powers    Rom. 13:1-7

    The Apostle Paul presents a grand summing up of all these commandments (the Golden Rule):  “... and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Rom. 13:9-10)