These questions were answered in the pages of the Millennial Star, in 1966-67. Some, but not all, of the columns from which these questions are drawn were signed by Mark E. Petersen, who was then president of the West European Mission.

Remember that the fun of posts like this is discovering what issues were on the minds of Church members of the past, and seeing what might have changed since these questions were answered. A few definitely outdated answers are given in this series of three posts, so they shouldn’t be used as current policy (or to settle arguments?)

Question: If a person is excommunicated from the Church, how may he regain his membership, or may he ever obtain it again?

Answer: Yes, any fully repentant person, once excommunicated, may come back to the Church by baptism. But he must be fully repentant, and must have proven his repentance to the officers of the Church. He must be cleared by the officers of the Church in the locality where he lives as well as by the court which excommunicated him.

Question: Is December 25 the right date of the birth of the Saviour?

Answer: It is the belief of the Latter-day Saints that the Saviour was most likely born on April 6. We deduce this from the wording of the first verse of Section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants. We may say too that secular writers have suggested early April as the time since all agree it was in the spring.

Question: Why does not the Mormon Church use the sign of the cross like so many other Christian churches?

Answer: The sign of the cross is not used in our Church for various reasons. One is that the cross was an instrument of execution. The Saviour never did teach us to venerate the cross, nor did the disciples of his day. They, as all people of that time, feared this instrument of torture of execution, and would hardly make it a symbol of the atonement. The Saviour however did give us a symbol of the atonement, and that is the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. The broken bread represents the torn flesh, the cup represents the blood shed for our sins. This sacrament is the true symbol of the atonement, not the cross.

Question: What is the stand of the Church regarding people who join other churches?

Answer: Sometimes members of our Church, particularly in isolated districts where we have no organised branches, do attend other churches and at times allow their entered in their records, persons desire again to ed with the Church of of Latter-day Saints. If such persons have not been excommunicated they do not require baptism, but may be accepted again into fellowship with the Church upon proper evidence of a sincere attitude. However if persons have joined other churches because of apostasy and request that their names be removed from our records, appropriate action should be taken against them, in accordance with the facts developed by a full investigation of the case. Regular trials should be held in the same manner as for other serious transgressions. Of course no action should be taken until every possible effort has been made to persuade the persons to repent.

Question: Should water be dedicated for baptismal purposes?

Answer: No.

Question: Is any member of the Church, recent or long-standing, worthy to receive a patriarchal blessing?

Answer: Any worthy member of the Church may be recommended to receive a patriarchal blessing. There is no special length of time a person must wait after his baptism to receive a blessing, although the individual should be well established in the Church and have a sincere testimony before asking for a recommend. It is suggested that persons under twelve years of age not be recommended since they will hardly be old enough to understand the meaning of the blessing. Persons living in stakes may be recommended to their stake patriarch by their own bishops. Persons not living in stakes must obtain recommends through their branch AND mission presidents for such blessings. Patriarchs are not appointed to serve in missions, but in stakes only. Therefore persons living in missions are under the necessity of obtaining their recommends and going to the stake patriarch nearby in order to obtain a blessing. Advance appointments should be made with the patriarchs.

Question: What does our church think about divorce?

Answer: We believe in the Church that family life should be sweet and wholesome, and that good family life should be perpetuated into the eternities through temple marriage. We do all we can to avoid divorce recognising that divorces usually come because of disobedience to some of the gospel principles on the part of one or the other partners in the marriage. Marriage should not be taken lightly, and couples should make every effort to live happily together. This is possible and can be done through living the gospel in the home. If every couple were to live the Golden Rule, and do to each other as that rule indicates, there would be no need for divorce. Where problems arise in a marriage it is recommended that the couple take their difficulty to their bishop or branch president, and in the spirit of the gospel, determine to repent as required, make what ever adjustment is needed, do all possible to eliminate the problem, and make a success of their home. There are some instances, of course where divorce is justified, and in those instances there is of course no other answer. But the couples should give the Church officials an opportunity to work out the problem with them prior to any contemplated legal steps.

Question: Does our Church believe wholly in the Ten Commandments?

Answer: Yes. All of these commandments have been reiterated and restated in modern revelation. We believe that we must live according to their precepts, in harmony with the programme and activities of the Church.

Question: What is the present stand of the Mormon Church regarding polygamy?

Answer: There are some apostate cults in America which still encourage this practice. They do so illegally, and against the stand of the Church. Any person thus engaged is immediately excommunicated from the Church. Some of these cults distribute their tracts in Britain. Members of the Church here should be cautioned against them.

Question: Is it true that there is no forgiveness for murder?

Answer: That is correct. That is why we do not baptise murderers even though they may be converted to the Church. If a member of the Church should commit murder, he would be excommunicated from the Church after his conviction in the courts of the land.

Question: Is it true that the number of missionaries labouring in Great Britain is to be reduced on account of the Vietnam war?

Answer: This is not true as far as we can see at present. We will continue to maintain our missionary force here. If the war cuts down too much on the number of young men who can be called into missionary service, of course, we may have to suffer the consequences here in Britain in common with all other missions in the world. But Britain will not be discriminated against, you may be sure of that. This gives us opportunity to say that it would be wonderful if more British young men and women and their families would make a contribution to our missionary effort. Able bodied and spiritually prepared young British men and women would be welcomed into our service here in the United Kingdom. If our young men and women would save their means and plan for missions, it would be good for them and good for the work. Young men must be 19 years of age and young women must be 21 for our full-time service. More and more young British people could be used to great advantage also in our stake and district missionary programme, on a part-time basis.

Question: Is there to be another nationwide young people’s conference this coming summer?

Answer; I We prefer to have such gatherings on a smaller scale, so that we avoid many of the expenses and other problems related to a nationwide meeting.

Question: Do you recommend reading the new Bible translations which are now coming out rather fast?

Answer: These translations are interesting to read and compare, and some good may come of it. Let us remind you that all these translations reflect the views of the translators, some of whom are definitely fixed in their sectarian religious notions. Our Church accepts as its official Bible the King James Translation which we feel is the best version available. You might keep in mind our article of faith which says: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.”

Question: How old is President Joseph Fielding Smith of the First Presidency?

Answer: He is 90 years of age and in good health we are glad to say.

Question: How do you feel about boys and girls going off together on holidays without escort?

Answer: We think this should not be. We feel that no young people should expose themselves to the temptations which this offers. Remember that our reputation is worth much. Also that our good name must never be tarnished. Also that virtue is more valuable than life itself. All these may be jeopardized by young people going off together on a holiday without proper chaperonage. Too much cannot be said about the importance of preserving our modesty, our chastity and our good relationships with the Lord. We must be clean. At one time the First Presidency wrote: “How near to the angels are youth that are clean.” This is so true. We are indeed the vessels of the Lord and the prophet said, “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” No matter how popular a custom this joint holiday scheme may be, it is not for Latter-day Saints. No matter how clean they may be on such trips, there is their good name and their reputation to be thought of also.

Question: My son is in the military service. Do you have some special books which are given to servicemen belonging to our Church?

Answer: Yes. Each Latter-day Saint serviceman, no matter in what nation he serves, is treated alike. We give to each man a pocket-sized Book of Mormon and a small book known as “The Principles of the Gospel” which takes up each vital principle which we teach, gives scriptural references and other explanations. We also have some small pamphlets which we feel are of assistance to the servicemen. These supplies are given to our men in the service when they are interviewed by their bishops or branch presidents as they depart for the service. It is our hope that every LDS serviceman will receive these supplies. If you know of any now in the service who has not received these gifts of the Church, let your bishop or branch know and the books will be supplied. These books are not for sale, but are free gifts from the First Presidency to our men in service.

Question: Does our Church believe in a literal hell?

Answer: Yes. The Lord teaches that there is a literal hell, a place where unrepentant persons are obliged to pay the price of their sins. May we suggest that you read Doctrine and Covenants 76:82-85, also verses 101-107. Read also Section 19 verses 15-19. There are also excellent references in The Book of Mormon. See for instance Alma 40:13-14.

Question: Is it true that parents will be held responsible for the sins of their unruly children?

Answer: We suggest you read D. & C. Section 68, verses 28 to 30. The Lord is very clear on this point. Parents cannot escape the responsibility of failing to teach their children what is right. If children are properly taught by their parents, and the children sin against all the training they have received in the home, the parents are free from blame. But if parents do not teach their children properly, they must bear part of the responsibility for those sins. Not that the children will escape. They will have to pay for the sins they commit, but the parents sin in that they fail to train their children, and this they must face. All Latter-day Saint parents must not only live the gospel themselves, but they must teach it to their children and establish habits of gospel living in the home so that children will grow up acquiring those habits from infancy. The wise man of old taught that when we train up a child in the way he should go he will not depart therefrom when he grows up, or words to that effect.

Question: I have an 11-year-old son. He has not been attending Primary because we live in an isolated place and it is hard for him to reach the chapel. Will this prevent him from being ordained a deacon when he is 12 years old?

Answer: No, it will not prevent him from being ordained. Any worthy male member of the Church on reaching 12 yaars of age may be ordained to the Aaronic priesthood and given the office of a deacon. It is always advisable for the boy to attend Primary if at all possible, for Primary work prepares him for the priesthood. But if he cannot attend Primary he may still be given the priesthood, depending upon worthiness of course. The bishop or branch president has this in hand.

Question: Is it wrong to partake of the sacrament with the left hand?

Answer: It is customary in the Church to partake of the sacrament, both bread and water, with the RIGHT hand. However, if there is some physical reason why this cannot be, it is quite all right to partake with the left hand. Or if a child, not knowing better, partakes with the left hand, it is not serious. Partaking of the sacrament with the right hand is a CUSTOM in the Church but not a REQUIREMENT. No sin is involved in whether we partake with one hand or the other. It is good, however, to maintain the approved custom of using the right hand. That is advised.