Evil Speaking Against the Lord’s Anointed

10 min readOct 19, 2015

The following is a talk I gave in a sacrament meeting at the Goose Creek Ward, Charleston South Carolina Stake, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 17, 2010

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our belief in modern revelation is one of our most fundamental (and most distinguishing) beliefs. We believe that a man can, and indeed “must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.” (1)

When such an individual is called of God, it is both the right and the responsibility of each member of the Church within that jurisdiction to sustain him. The dictionary defines “sustain” as “to support, [to] hold, or [to] bear up.” (2) In the church, we raise our hand both to ratify the decision and to signify that we believe that this individual has been called of God and we are willing to support, uphold, and bear him up in that calling. We do so in general conference, stake conference, ward conference, and sacrament and quorum meetings. Speaking specifically about the president of the church, Elder David B. Haight said, “We not only raise our hands in saying we sustain but that we follow his direction, that we listen, that we counsel, that we pray about it, that we’re mindful of what comes from the lips of the prophet.” (3) I think we can safely apply this counsel to any situation where we are called upon to sustain someone who has been called of God to be a leader in the church.

Of those who are “called of God… to preach the Gospel,”(4) the Lord has said that, “whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.”(5) He has also said that, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself… whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”(6) According to Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “That principle… imposes a solemn duty upon the members of this Church to be loyal to their leaders and faithful in following their direction.”(7)

In a general conference address, Elder John H. Groberg told this story from his experience as a missionary in the South Pacific: “I was assigned as a district president to administer the affairs of the Church and preach the gospel in a group of fifteen small, scattered islands. We traveled almost exclusively by sailboat…

“On one occasion, we received word that a missionary was very ill on a somewhat distant island. The weather was threatening. … Extra heavy seas slowed our progress, and it was late afternoon before we arrived. The missionary was indeed very ill. Fervent prayer was followed by administration, during which the impression came very strongly to get him back to the hospital on the main island, and to do it now! …

“There was much … talk about the darkness, the storm, the formidable reef with its extremely narrow opening to the harbor … but soon eight persons, including an ill missionary, a very experienced captain, and a somewhat concerned district president, boarded the boat. …

“No sooner had we made our commitment to the open seas than the intensity of the storm seemed to increase sevenfold. … The thick clouds and driving rain increased the blackness of our already dark universe — no stars, no moon, no rest — only turmoil. …

“As we rolled and tossed closer and closer to the reef, all eyes searched for the light that marked the opening — the only entry to our home. Where was it? … The rain slashed at our faces and tore at our eyes — eyes vainly searching for that life-giving light.

“Then I heard the chilling sound of the waves crashing and chewing against the reef! It was close — too close. Where was that light? Unless we hit the opening exactly, we would be smashed against the reef and ripped and torn by that thousand-toothed monster. …

“Some began to whimper, others to moan and cry, and one or two even to scream in hysteria. At the height of this panic when many were pleading to turn to the left or to the right, … I looked at the captain — and there I saw the face of calmness, the ageless face of wisdom and experience, as his eyes penetrated the darkness ahead. Quietly his weather-roughened lips parted, and without moving his fixed gaze and just perceptibly shifting the wheel, he breathed those life-giving words, … ‘There is the light!’ …

“I could not see the light, but the captain could see it. And I knew that he could see it. … And so with one last great swell we were hurtled through the opening and into calmer waters. …

“We were in the protected harbor. We were home. …

“And so the great lesson: There are those who, through years of experience and training, and by virtue of special divine callings, can see farther and better and more clearly — and can and will save us in those situations where serious injury or death — both spiritual and physical — would be upon us before we ourselves could see.”(8)

When Joseph Smith was president of the church, the Lord said of him, “his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.”(9) Sometimes the Lord will ask us, through his servants, to do things that require patience and faith, but I testify that as we support and follow the counsel of our church leaders, they will help us to earn all of the blessings that the Lord has in store for us. I know they are called and inspired of God.

We should do more than just follow our church leaders, however. Like Alma and his brethren in The Book of Mormon, we should “submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”(10) One way in which many members of the church fail to sustain and uphold the leaders of the church is in their speech. Speaking critically of the leaders of the church is an all too common practice.

The dictionary contains multiple definitions of criticism. The first definition is this: “the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything.”11In and of itself, that is not a bad thing and, indeed, is a necessary part of life. The second definition, however, is the problem. According to this definition, criticism is “the act of passing severe judgment; censure; faultfinding.”(12)

The faultfinding type of criticism is always an evil practice — one we have been commanded to abstain from. From 1 Peter 2:1, we learn that we are to lay “aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,”(13) and in Ephesians 4:31 we are told to, “let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.”(14)

The Lord made it clear how important this commandment is when he revealed section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Verses 53 and 54 read: “The teacher’s duty is to watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them; And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking.”(15) It’s important enough to the Lord that he assigned the teachers quorum the specific responsibility of ensuring that the members of His church abstain from backbiting and evil speaking. Speaking to the children of Israel, who had murmured against him, Moses taught this truth: “your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”(16)

Sometimes, our criticism is true. No man is perfect, church leader or not, but the truth of a matter does not automatically justify criticism. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “Truth surely exists as an absolute, but our use of truth should be disciplined by other values. For example, it is wrong to make statements of fact out of an evil motive, even if the statements are true.”(17) Criticism, true or untrue, undermines the ability of a leader to influence those he leads. Elder George F. Richards said, “When we say anything bad about the leaders of the Church, whether true or false, we tend to impair their influence and their usefulness and are thus working against the Lord and his cause.”(18)

When constructive, criticism of leaders is appropriate in other organizations but not in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints because the church is organized differently than other organizations and church leaders derive their power or authority from a different source. Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained, “Government or corporate officials, who are elected directly or indirectly or appointed by majority vote, must expect that their performance will be subject to critical and public evaluations by their constituents. That is part of the process of informing those who have the right and power of selection or removal. The same is true of popularly elected officers in professional, community, and other private organizations. I suppose that the same is true even of church leaders who are selected by popular vote of members or their representative bodies. Consistent with gospel standards, these evaluations — though critical and public — should be constructive.

“A different principle applies in our Church, where the selection of leaders is based on revelation, subject to the sustaining vote of the membership. In our system of Church government, evil speaking and criticism of leaders by members is always negative. Whether the criticism is true or not… it tends to impair the leader’s’ influence and usefulness, thus working against the Lord and his cause…

“Just as our Church leaders’ source of authority is different from that of government and corporate leaders, so are the procedures for correcting Church leaders different from those used to correct leaders chosen by popular election. But the differences are appropriate to the way in which our Church leaders are called and released. By following approved procedures, we can keep from alienating ourselves from the Spirit of the Lord.”(19)

Our criticism of church leaders is a measure of how rebellious we have become. Often, we will find that when we criticise our church leaders it is in an attempt to justify our own unrighteous behavior. Nephi wrote, “And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear… And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.”(20) Whenever we feel inclined to criticize our church leaders, let us take that as a sign that we have strayed off the path and need to repent and follow the will of the Lord. If we feel we have a valid concern, we may take that concern to the individual directly or to a church leader who has the power to correct or release the person thought to be in error. It should not be broadcast before the world.

President Hinckley shared the following in the April 2003 general conference: “When I was a university student, I said to my father on one occasion that I felt the General Authorities had overstepped their prerogatives when they advocated a certain thing. He was a very wise and good man. He said, ‘The President of the Church has instructed us, and I sustain him as prophet, seer, and revelator and intend to follow his counsel.’

“I have now served in the general councils of this Church for 45 years. I have served as an Assistant to the Twelve, as a member of the Twelve, as a Counselor in the First Presidency, and now for eight years as President. I want to give you my testimony that although I have sat in literally thousands of meetings where Church policies and programs have been discussed, I have never been in one where the guidance of the Lord was not sought nor where there was any desire on the part of anyone present to advocate or do anything which would be injurious or coercive to anyone.

“The book of Revelation declares: ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth’ (Rev. 3:15–16).

“I make you a promise, my dear brethren, that while I am serving in my present responsibility I will never consent to nor advocate any policy, any program, any doctrine which will be otherwise than beneficial to the membership of this, the Lord’s Church.”(21)

Brothers and Sisters I testify that this is the work of the Lord. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been restored in these days with “the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.”(22) Let us always be found cheerfully obeying the word of the Lord, as revealed through these humble servants, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Footnotes:

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Evil Speaking Against the Lord’s Anointed

Written by Stephen Sorensen