It’s always intriguing to find a reference in an old document to something that is of current interest – like this section of apostle Reed Smoot’s Conference address in October 1905.
I’ve stated before my speculation that one of the chief reasons for our current policy of not writing directly to the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve is because so very much of their time in the past has been consumed responding to letters that really did not need to land on their desks. That much seems obvious from the endless file boxes of such correspondence in the Church History Library. There are no doubt other factors in consideration. In any case, here is what Reed Smoot requested more than a century ago:
Some people think, as I have heard it expressed, inspired from the source of all misrepresentation and falsehood, that the president of the Church does not work, and that he and his counselors do not give the attention they should to the work of the Lord. I wish that these men had more physical strength than they have, for I testify to you that it is strained to the utmost.
I go into their office and I see almost an arm full of mail brought in several times a day. I find President Winder, eighty-three years old, reading aloud almost every letter, and with the President of the Church, and the other counselor, attending to every little detail that is brought to their notice from all parts of this great Church.
While speaking upon this subject, I feel to ask the brethren here, who hold leading positions in the Church, as well as all members in the different stakes of Zion who write letters to the presidency, if it is absolutely necessary for you to write, make the letters as short as you can, but do not write unless it is necessary.
I would advise the people to first go to their Bishop, and, if possible, get from him the advice and counsel they need; if unable to get it from hm, then apply to the presidency of the stake, and, if it becomes absolutely necessary to appeal to the First Presidency, make the communication just as short as possible, for those brethren are worked almost to death. I feel like asking the good people of the Church to bear this in mind when they are tempted to write long letters to the Presidency.
I wrote to president Hinckley once after he’d made a reference in some talk to when his great grandfather was baptized. This was new information to me despite spending more than average time on Hinckley genealogy. I wanted a source for this change to what I knew.
I rechecked everything I had or that was available on-line. Nothing. My only option was to write and ask a family question. I eventually reasoned to myself that had it been anyone other than Pres. Hinckley I’d have written without hesitation. After all, I’d contacted the president of the, then, RLDS Church with another family question.
Pres. Hinckley’s secretary referred me to his brother, Sherman, the apparent font of Hinckley family history. At least I had a source for the source and could pursue more details. This ended my interactions with the First Presidency. (I remain convinced he/they were mistaken.)
I’ve written to the First Presidency (or, the “Office of the First Presidency”) twice, both times through authorized channels and about sealing-related matters that can only be addressed by the First Presidency. I figure that in a church with millions of members, the sheer number of second marriages requiring First Presidency attention must be overwhelming — I can’t imagine them having a lot of time to answer other correspondence.
Last year, Elder Nelson came to my stake to select a new stake president. For the priesthood leadership meeting, most of the time was given to Elder Nelson taking questions. This was a group of under two hundred, a small enough setting in which sticking a hand up would not be overly vain. I was seated about four rows from the stand, and when the floor was opened to our questions my mind went blank. The meeting was more than half-way through before any of the oh-so-insightful queries that could uniquely benefit from Elder Nelson’s position-based knowledge came back into my head.
One thing though is in Conference they seem to reference letters they get, if they want people to not write them then don’t use them in Conference!!! That and sitting next to a leader on an airplane,-those stories might find their way into a conference talk!