To Young Men Only

"To Young Men Only" (also known as "Message to Young Men")[1] 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 of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The sermon is addressed to young men of the Aaronic priesthood (ages 12 to 18) and discusses issues of human sexuality, puberty, and morality. From 1980 to 2016, the sermon was published as a pamphlet by the LDS Church. It has been criticized in several publications for allegedly encouraging violence against homosexuals.[2]: 150 [3][4][5] In 2016, the church discontinued the pamphlet.[6]

Cover of the 1980 pamphlet, which printed the sermon.

Content

Packer described his remarks as matters that "fathers should discuss with their sons."[7] Packer stated that "because some young men do not have fathers and because some fathers (and some bishops) do not know how to proceed", he would be addressing sensitive subjects.[7] The sermon compares the male reproductive system to a "little factory" and teaches that masturbation, use of pornography, and homosexual activities are immoral and forbidden by God.[7] It encourages young male Latter-day Saints to "vigorously resist" homosexual advances, even with violence, if necessary.[8] Packer teaches that nocturnal emission is natural and designed by God and that young men "should not feel guilty" when it happens.[7] The sermon also offers suggestions on how to control one's thoughts and resist temptation.[7]

Publication

Unlike most general conference sermons, "Message to Young Men" was not published in the church's official magazine, The Ensign.[9] Instead, the sermon was published in 1980 as a 14-page pamphlet, entitled "To Young Men Only", that was available for church leaders to distribute to members.[7]

In 2016, the pamphlet was discontinued and it was removed from the LDS Church's website.[6] The video of the sermon is no longer available on the LDS Church's website as of August 2019.[6][7]

Criticism
Packer's conference address published here has been criticized for condoning anti-gay violence.[2]: 150 [3][4][5]

One controversial part of the sermon states that some men entice others to join them in sexual behaviors and gives an example of a missionary who punched ("floored") his gay companion, to which Packer responded, "Somebody had to do it". Packer then continued “I am not recommending that course to you, but I am not omitting it. You must protect yourself.”[8] In the original broadcast, the audience is heard laughing after the statement "somebody had to do it".[10]

In 2001, gay Mormon historian D. Michael Quinn described the sermon as "[t]he low point in the Mormon hierarchy's homophobia since the 1950s";[4] Quinn argued that Packer's words constituted an endorsement of gay bashing and that the church itself endorsed such behavior by continuing to publish Packer's speech.[11]

In 2000 and 2001, David E. Hardy, a Salt Lake City lawyer who is the father of a gay son, criticized the sermon for "demoniz[ing]" gays and implying that "homosexuality is a matter of choice".[12][13][14]

In 2014, Samantha Allen, a columnist for The Daily Beast, wrote that the sermon "typifies organized religion’s approach to curtailing male masturbation", calling it "deeply paternalistic" and criticizing it for employing "a noxious mixture of condescension and euphemism".[15]

See also

References
  1. "General Conference: October 1976". ChurchofJesusChrist.org. LDS Church. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  2. Corcoran, Brent; O'Donovan, Rocky (1994). Multiply and Replenish: Mormon Essays on Sex and Family. Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books. ISBN 1560850507. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  3. Hilary Groutage Smith, "Mormon Pamphlets on Gays Criticized", The Salt Lake Tribune, 2000-08-06, p. B2
  4. D. Michael Quinn, Same-sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-century Americans: A Mormon Example (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2001) p. 382.
  5. David E. Hardy, "BYU's Dismissal of Gay Students Continues Confusion for Gays, Parents" [opinion], The Salt Lake Tribune, p. AA3.
  6. Peggy Fletcher Stack, "LDS Church 'retires' Mormon apostle's 'little factory' pamphlet", The Salt Lake Tribune, November 14, 2016.
  7. Packer, Boyd. "To Young Men Only". lds.org. LDS Church. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015.
  8. Packer, Boyd. "To Young Men Only". lds.org. LDS Church. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. There are some men who entice young men to join them in these immoral acts. If you are ever approached to participate in anything like that, it is time to vigorously resist. While I was in a mission on one occasion, a missionary said he had something to confess. I was very worried because he just could not get himself to tell me what he had done. After patient encouragement he finally blurted out, 'I hit my companion.' 'Oh, is that all,' I said in great relief. 'But I floored him,' he said. After learning a little more, my response was 'Well, thanks. Somebody had to do it, and it wouldn't be well for a General Authority to solve the problem that way.' I am not recommending that course to you, but I am not omitting it. You must protect yourself.
  9. "Report of the 146th Semiannual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", Ensign (Magazine), vol. 6, no. 11, November 1976, retrieved 2018-10-24. Note that the table of contents for this issue lacks any reference to this address.
  10. Packer, Boyd (2 October 1976). Message to Young Men. Salt Lake Tabernacle: LDS Church. Event occurs at 11:21.
  11. D. Michael Quinn, "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.
  12. Hilary Groutage Smith, "Mormon Pamphlets on Gays Criticized", The Salt Lake Tribune, 2000-08-06, p. B2
  13. David E. Hardy, "BYU's Dismissal of Gay Students Continues Confusion for Gays, Parents" [opinion], The Salt Lake Tribune, p. AA3.
  14. Packer, Boyd. "To Young Men Only". lds.org. LDS Church. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. There is a falsehood that some are born with an attraction to their own kind, with nothing they can do about it. They are just 'that way' and can only yield to those desires. That is a malicious and destructive lie. While it is a convincing idea to some, it is of the devil. No one is locked into that kind of life. From our premortal life we were directed into a physical body. There is no mismatching of bodies and spirits. Boys are to become men—masculine, manly men—ultimately to become husbands and fathers. No one is predestined to a perverted use of these powers.
  15. Samantha Allen, "Tim Ferriss Is Bro Culture's Anti-Masturbation Crusader", The Daily Beast, August 1, 2014.
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