General Relief Society Meeting transcripts
Addressing a "vast concourse of women" of the Church, President Gordon B. Hinckley declared Sept. 23 that there is no better answer to the "foul practices that confront our young people than the teachings of a mother, given in love with an unmistakable warning."
Speaking during the General Relief Society Meeting, telecast over the Church's satellite system from the Tabernacle on Temple Square, President Hinckley spoke with vigor and without apology about the crucial role mothers play in shaping the lives of youth.
"By and large, you have done a remarkable job in rearing them. I have said many times that I believe we have the finest generation of young people that this Church has ever known. They are better educated, they are better motivated, they know the scriptures, they live the Word of Wisdom, they pay their tithing, they pray. They try to do the right thing. They are bright and able, clean and fresh, attractive and smart. These are very substantial in number.
"But I regret to say that so many of our young people fall between the cracks," President Hinckley continued. "They try one foolish thing after another, never evidently satisfied, until they are pulled down into a pit from which they cannot extricate themselves. Some of our own are among these, and it is you mothers who bear the burden of sorrow that flows therefrom. They are your sons and daughters. And so tonight with the hope that I may be helpful, I plead with you."
Attending the meeting with President Hinckley were President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, and President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency. Also present were President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve; Elder Richard G. Scott and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve; and Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy.
Conducting the meeting was Relief Society General President Mary Ellen W. Smoot, who also addressed the gathering along with her counselors in the Relief Society general presidency, Virginia U. Jensen and Sheri L. Dew. Also at the meeting were members of the Primary and Young Women general presidencies. The General Relief Society Meeting was telecast to more than 3,000 meetinghouses in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
During his remarks on a crisp fall evening, President Hinckley continued: "I plead with you, my dear sisters. Sit down and quietly count the debits and the credits in your role as a mother. It is not too late. When all else fails, there is prayer and the promised help of the Lord to assist you in your trials. But do not delay. Start now. . . .
"Teach your children when they are very young and small, and never quit. As long as they are in your home, let them be your primary interest. I take the liberty tonight of suggesting several things that you might teach them:
"Teach them to seek for good friends. It is important that they cultivate an attitude of tolerance toward all people, but it is more important that they gather around them those of their own kind who will bring out the best they have within them. Otherwise, they may be infected with the ways of their associates.
"Teach them to value education." President Hinckley admonished: "There rests upon the people of this Church a mandate from the Lord to acquire learning. It will bless their lives now and through all the years to come.
"Teach them to respect their bodies. The practice is growing among young people of tattooing and piercing their bodies. The time will come when they will regret it, but it will then be too late. It is sad and regrettable that young men and some young women have their bodies tattooed. What do they hope to gain by this painful process? Is 'there any thing virtuous, lovely or of good report, or praiseworthy' in having unseemly so-called art impregnated into the skin to be carried throughout life, all the way down to old age and death? They must be counseled to shun it. They must be warned to avoid it."
Continuing, President Hinckley said: "It is an uncomely thing, and yet a common thing, to see young men with ears pierced for earrings, not for one pair only, but for several. They have no respect for their appearance. Do they think it clever or attractive to so adorn themselves? I submit that is not adornment. It is making ugly that which was attractive. Not only are ears pierced, but other parts of the body as well, even the tongue. It is absurd."
President Hinckley explained that the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve "have taken the position, and I quote, that 'The Church discourages tattoos. It also discourages the piercing of the body for other than medical purposes, although it takes no position on the minimal piercing of the ears by women for one pair of earrings.'
"Teach your sons and daughters to avoid illegal drugs as they would the plague. The use of these narcotics will destroy them. They cannot so abuse their bodies, they cannot so build within themselves vicious and enslaving appetites without doing incalculable injury. One habit calls for another, until the victim in so many cases is led down to a situation of utter helplessness, with loss of all self-control and habituated until it cannot be broken.
"A recent television program indicated that 20 percent of young people who are on drugs were introduced to their use by parents. What is wrong with people? Teach your children to avoid them as they would a foul disease. Build within them an utter abhorrence of such.
"Teach them to be honest. The jails of the world are filled with people who began their evil activities with small acts of dishonesty. A small lie often leads to a greater lie.
"Teach them to be virtuous. Teach young men to respect young women as daughters of God endowed with something very precious and beautiful. Teach your daughters to have respect for young men, for boys who hold the priesthood, boys who should and do stand above the tawdry evils of the world.
"Teach them to pray. None of us is wise enough to make it on our own," President Hinckley counseled. "We need the help, wisdom, the guidance of the Almighty in reaching those decisions that are so tremendously important in our lives. There is no substitute for prayer. There is no greater resource."
Toward the end of his address, President Hinckley explained: "My dear mothers, these things I have mentioned are, of course, not new. They are as old as Adam and Eve. But they are as certain in their cause and effect as the sunrise in the morning, and the list is not complete.
"God bless you, dear friends. Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days. May you not trade a present thing of transient value for the greater good of sons and daughters, boys and girls, young men and women for whose upbringing you have an inescapable responsibility."
Presenting music for the evening was a choir of young adult women from BYU, directed by Joni Jensen and accompanied by Bonnie Goodliffe. Offering the invocation and benediction were Elaine Harris and Marged Kirkpatrick, respectively, of the Relief Society general board.
E-mail: julied@desnews.com
