Bishops and Branch Presidents,
You may be aware of a buzz on social media about a 12-year-old girl, who in her ward’s testimony meeting in Utah last month, announced she was lesbian. It made the news when the mic was turned off and she was apparently told—kindly—by the presiding authority (supposedly the 1st Counselor in the stake presidency) to stop reading her written testimony. Then he asked the leader next to him (likely the bishop), to bear his testimony.
You can see the full incident on a variety of YouTube sites, including this one:
I’m sharing this as a timely reminder of the position we are in to protect the pulpit when we preside in all church meetings, especially testimony meetings. On the whole, we have been blessed with wonderful, uplifting and faith-filled testimonies in our stake. But there can be times when someone decides to use the “open mic” to promote an agenda, as was this case in Utah.
Hindsight is always 20/20. You have to feel for the priesthood leaders, who obviously were blindsided by what appears to be a “set up” of sorts (why else would someone have been making a video of it?). We’ll all likely have differing opinions as to how priesthood leaders should have handled this.
It’s a timely reminder for all of us that Handbook 2, 5.5.1 states that the bishopric “direct(s) the ward council’s efforts to ensure that teaching in the ward is edifying and doctrinally correct."
May I use this incident as a reminder to all of us that one of the "unwritten rules" in addressing these awkward situations, in my opinion, is two-fold:
1. When someone teaches false or misleading doctrine it should be corrected by the presiding authority as soon as possible in the same meeting or soon thereafter.
2. When someone abuses the privilege of speaking or teaching, either over the pulpit or in a classroom, such as telling inappropriate stories or “faith-promoting rumors,” dominating the meeting or discussion, taking the meeting or classroom in an inappropriate direction, etc. we should take the person aside later and teach them privately as to what is and isn’t appropriate in church meetings.
If you find yourself in a similar situation as what happened in Utah (and the possibility increases as activist groups become more vocal) my recommendation is that:
• You NOT turn off the mic or stop them, to avoid confrontation, unless the person is violent, belligerent or you think it’s going to go on and on;
• Then the presiding authority stand and offer, as kindly as possible, a testimony explaining the correct doctrine (President Boyd K. Packer was famous for saying something like, “I’m sure Brother (so-and-so) meant to say…”) and reminding members of the purpose of a testimony meeting and what is an appropriate testimony;
• When it appears the person is going to go on-and-on or the person is declaring wildly false doctrine, then it may be appropriate (as the Spirit prompts) for the presiding authority to stand up next to the person at the pulpit and simply remind him or her and everyone in the audience that an appropriate testimony is to include bearing a personal witness that Jesus Christ is our Savior and other truths that have been taught by the prophets, both ancient and modern.
I remind you that the safety guidelines from the Church states that when a vocal intruder tries to disrupt the meeting (like walking down the aisle yelling), the presiding authority may simply stand and close the meeting, asking everyone to return home immediately. It does happen. There was just such an incident a few months ago in the Gresham Stake.
Brethren, I don’t pretend to have all the answers. Feel free to reply to myself, to the presidency or to ALL if you feel to offer additional insights or suggestions on how presiding authorities should handle these awkward, even delicate, situations.
Thank you for your faithful service and your willingness to protect the pulpit while kindly encouraging and teaching members how not to abuse the sacred privilege of speaking freely in Lord’s true church.
President Lewis
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