Boyd K. Packer
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Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2008 until his death. He also served as the quorum's acting president from 1994 to 2008, and was an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve from 1970 until his death. He served as a general authority of the church from 1961 until his death.


Early life and education

Packer was born on September 10, 1924, in
Brigham City, Utah Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at ...
, the tenth of eleven children born to Ira Wight Packer and Emma Jensen. As a young boy, he contracted polio. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in the spring of 1943. He graduated as a pilot in September 1944 and was assigned to bomber training. He was on Okinawa when World War II ended, and his unit remained stationed on Japan until 1946. After leaving the military, Packer initially attended Weber College (now Weber State University), where he met his future wife, Donna Smith (1927-2022). They married in the Logan Temple in 1947 and had ten children, including emeritus LDS general authority Allan F. Packer. After their marriage, Packer attended Utah State University, earning a B.S. degree in 1949 and an
M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in 1953. He later earned an Ed.D. from Brigham Young University in 1962. Packer was also an artist and enjoyed painting birds.


Career


LDS Church employment and service

In his career as an educator, Packer worked for the
Church Educational System The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...
, where he held various administrative positions overseeing seminary and institute programs, including as assistant supervisor of the church's Native American seminary programs, general assistant administrator of seminaries and institutes, and later as supervisor of church's seminaries and institutes. Packer served a four-year term on the Brigham City City Council. In 1961, Packer was called by
LDS Church president The President of the Church is the highest office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was the office held by Joseph Smith, the church's founder. The church's president is its leader and the head of the First Pres ...
David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...
to serve as a general authority as an Assistant to the Twelve (a position that no longer exists). While serving in the position, Packer was assigned to serve as president of the church's New England States Mission. He also served for a time as the managing director of the church's military relations committee. Following McKay's death in January 1970, Packer, then 45 years old, was called by new church president Joseph Fielding Smith as a member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
at the church's April 1970 general conference. Between 1979 and 1981, he was on the committee that produced the new editions of the LDS Church scriptures. On September 12, 1991, Packer dedicated Ukraine "for the preaching of the restored gospel." In 1993, Packer read the dedicatory prayer in the Spanish language at the dedication of the
San Diego California Temple __NOTOC__ The San Diego California Temple is the 47th constructed and 45th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located near the La Jolla community of San Diego, it was built with two main spires, but unique to this ...
. When
Howard W. Hunter Howard William Hunter (November 14, 1907 – March 3, 1995) was an American lawyer and the 14th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1994 to 1995. His nine-month presidential tenure is the shortest in ...
, who had been President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, succeeded to the presidency of the church in 1994, he called
Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...
and
Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...
as his counselors in the First Presidency. Packer was the fourth apostle in seniority among the ranks of the church, behind Hunter, Hinckley, and Monson. This created a situation where the only apostles senior to Packer were members of the First Presidency. As a result, Packer was named Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve. When Hunter died in 1995 and was succeeded by Hinckley, Monson was again retained in the First Presidency and Packer was again asked to be Acting President of the Twelve. Of the six acting presidents of the Quorum in the church's history, Packer served the longest in that capacity and is the only one to serve under two different church presidents. In 1999, Packer dedicated the Regina Saskatchewan Temple. Packer became President of the Quorum of the Twelve on February 3, 2008, when Monson became church president. In 2012, Packer dedicated the
Brigham City Utah Temple The Brigham City Utah Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Brigham City, Utah. The temple was announced by church president Thomas S. Monson on October 3, 2009, during the church's general conf ...
.


Teachings and legacy

Packer was well known for several talks and teachings, and several of his stories have been adapted into short films. His sermon about singing a hymn to drive off bad thoughts was adapted into the video ''Worthy Thoughts''. His Parable of the Mediator (Jesus Christ) was adapted into the short film "The Mediator". "The Candle of the Lord" (1982) is well known for its analogy of trying to describe what salt tastes like to trying to describe what promptings from the Holy Ghost are like. Packer also taught the importance of following the rule before the exception and of hymn-centered prelude music for worship services. Packer served as an advisor to the Genesis Group, a social organization of the LDS Church for African-American members and their families, and was also active in obtaining genealogical records on microfilm for the church through its
Genealogical Society of Utah FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family Histo ...
. In 1977, Packer was a key figure in getting Native American-related records filmed from the federal records centers in Los Angeles,
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, Seattle, and
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
. He was involved in negotiations that same year with archivists and scholars at Jerusalem to microfilm Jewish records.


Controversy

In a General Conference Priesthood Session in October 1976, Packer gave a sermon entitled "
To Young Men Only "To Young Men Only" (also known as "Message to Young Men") is a sermon delivered by Latter-day Saint apostle Boyd K. Packer on October 2, 1976, at the priesthood session of the 146th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ o ...
", in which he discouraged boys of the
Young Men organization The Young Men (often referred to as Young Men's) is a youth organization and official program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Its purpose is to assist the church's Aaronic priesthood-aged young men in their growt ...
in the Aaronic priesthood from pursuing activities which the LDS Church defines as immoral, including
masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
, the use of
pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
, and homosexual activities. The sermon has been criticized for encouraging
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
and gay bashing.
D. Michael Quinn Dennis Michael Quinn (March 26, 1944 – April 21, 2021) was an American historian who focused on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1976 until ...

"Prelude to the National 'Defense of Marriage' Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities"
'' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' vol. 33 no. 3 (Fall 2000) pp. 1–52.
Packer also addressed homosexuality in a 1978 speech, "To the One", directed to "those few, those very few, who ay be subject to homosexual temptation";, p.2 and comments during his October 2010 General Conference address, "Cleansing the Inner Vessel", were interpreted as pertaining to homosexuality and generated a petition by the
Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
. The church responded to this petition by reaffirming its doctrinal position on marriage while reiterating the universal need to follow "Jesus Christ's second great commandment—to love one another.""HRC Delivers 150K Petitions to Mormon Church"
, HRC.org October 21, 2010
Following the conference, Packer altered the published text of the sermon to "clarif his intent." In 2013, amid a nationwide shift toward acceptance and legalization of same-sex marriage, Packer attracted some attention for comments critical of "legalized acts of immorality" and warning of a "tolerance trap." In 1981, Packer advocated that Latter-day Saint historians and educators should use discretion in discussing history that does not promote faith. In a speech to educators in the LDS
Church Educational System The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...
, he cautioned, "There is a temptation for the writer or teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith-promoting or not. Some things that are true are not very useful." Teaching that teachers should "give milk before meat", he stated that "Teaching some things that are true, prematurely or at the wrong time, can invite sorrow and heartbreak instead of the joy intended to accompany learning.… me things are to be taught selectively and some things are to be given only to those who are worthy." Packer's opinion applied to all historians who were members of the LDS Church: Packer's comments raised criticism by some prominent Mormon and non-Mormon scholars. Soon after Packer's 1981 speech, Mormon historian
D. Michael Quinn Dennis Michael Quinn (March 26, 1944 – April 21, 2021) was an American historian who focused on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1976 until ...
gave a speech highly critical of Packer's views, and suggested that a historian who followed Packer's advice would sacrifice their honesty and professional integrity. Quinn also discussed what he viewed as a Mormon tradition of portraying LDS leaders as infallible people. C. Robert Mesle has criticized Packer as having created a false dichotomy "between the integrity of faith and the integrity of inquiry."


Recognition

In May 2013, Weber State University, where Packer received an
associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...
in 1948 and where he met his wife, designated a public service center for families the "Boyd K. and Donna Smith Packer Family and Community Education Center". Packer was also interviewed by PBS for its documentary on the LDS Church titled '' The Mormons''.


Death

Packer died at his home on July 3, 2015. At the time of his death, he was the second-most senior apostle among the ranks of the church and the fifth-longest serving general authority in the church's history. His funeral was held on July 10, 2015, and he was buried in Brigham City.


Selected works

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Notes


References

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Online reprint
by John W. Redelfs at ZionsBest.com * * * * * *


External links


General Authorities and General Officers: President Boyd K. Packer

Boyd K. Packer
Leader Biographies, Newsroom

Boyd K. Packer, Grampa Bill's G.A. (General Authority) Pages. *
Boyd K. Packer Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jes ...
, Wiki Quotes. {{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, Boyd K. 1924 births American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in the United States Apostles (LDS Church) Brigham Young University alumni Church Educational System instructors Genealogy and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2015 deaths Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormonism-related controversies People from Brigham City, Utah People from Cottonwood Heights, Utah Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church) Utah State University alumni Weber State University alumni United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 20th-century Mormon missionaries American general authorities (LDS Church) American expatriates in Japan Latter Day Saints from Utah