List of Doctrines on "Sin: Evil Speaking"
763. We are not to speak evil of another—to slander or malign others.
764. We should not gossip about others.
765. We are not to use vulgar or filthy language.
766. We shall not profane the name of God; we are to use the name of the Lord reverently.
767. We are not to bear false witness or accuse others falsely.
763. We are not to speak evil of another—to slander or malign others.
James
Stephen L. Richards
Paul
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Recorded in Psalms
Recorded in Psalms
Joseph Smith
Recorded in Proverbs
James
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. (James writes to his brethren in the Church) James 4:11
Stephen L. Richards
[T]here are many who are thoughtless, who speak lightly and carelessly and disrespectfully of leaders and principles and sacred phases of this Church. I think it is a shame to jest about sacred things and sometimes it is as blasphemous as taking the name of God in vain. I rebuke those who do it and I call upon them to stop and think. If they will but think, I believe they will realize the incalculable harm they do, the faith they destroy and the unhappiness they bring.
. . . . Certain it is that a large part of the unhappiness of the world results from inconsiderate judgment. Many a pillow is wet with the sobs of those who are its victims. We cannot read the hearts of man [of men]. We may not know their good intentions. We often judge them by their failures, and we are unkind enough to circulate our judgment in the form of rumors and gossip and thus do irreparable damage. CR1938Oct:117
Paul
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Letter to the Saints at Ephesus in Asia Minor, about A.D. 62) Ephesians 4:31-32
Joseph Smith
We ask thee, Holy Father, to confound, and astonish, and to bring to shame and confusion, all those who have spread lying reports abroad, over the world, against thy servant or servants, if they will not repent, when the everlasting gospel shall be proclaimed in their ears;
30. And that all their works may be brought to naught, and be swept away by the hail, and by the judgments which thou wilt send upon them in thine anger, that there may be an end to lyings and slanders against thy people. (Prayer given to Joseph Smith by revelation and offered at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple on March 27, 1836) D&C 109:29-30
Joseph Smith
Thy voice shall be a rebuke unto the transgressor; and at thy rebuke let the tongue of the slanderer cease its perverseness. (Revelation for Thomas B. Marsh concerning the Twelve Apostles; received on the day on which the gospel was first preached in England, July 23, 1837) D&C 112:9
Recorded in Psalms
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Psalms 101:5
Recorded in Psalms
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Psalms 34:13
Related Witnesses:
Joseph Smith,
quoted by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
quoted by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
When all men speak evil of you falsely, blessed are ye. Shall a man be considered bad, when men speak evil of him? No. If a man stands and opposes the world of sin, he may expect to have all wicked and corrupt spirits arrayed against him. But it will be but a little season, and all these afflictions will be turned away from us, inasmuch as we are faithful, and are not overcome by these evils. By seeing the blessings of the endowment rolling on, and the kingdom increasing and spreading from sea to sea, we shall rejoice that we were not overcome by these foolish things. (At Relief Society meeting, Nauvoo, Ill., minutes by Eliza R. Snow) HC5:139-41; TPJS:259
Recorded in Proverbs
He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
21. The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. Proverbs 10:18,21
764. We should not gossip about others.
Recorded in Leviticus
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Stephen L. Richards
President David O. McKay
Paul
Paul
Jesus
Recorded in Leviticus
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. (Revelation to Moses for the children of Israel) Leviticus 19:16
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Of course, no one sees himself in this category. It is always the other person who gossips, invents tales, slanders, and is double-tongued. But are not we all guilty to some degree and do not all of us need introspection, self-analysis and then repentance? (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 52) TLDP:289-90
Stephen L. Richards
Certain it is that a large part of the unhappiness in the world results from inconsiderate judgment. Many a pillow is wet with the sobs of those who are its victims. We cannot read the hearts of man. We may not know their good intentions. We often judge them by their failures, and we are unkind enough to circulate our judgment in the form of rumors and gossip and thus do irreparable damage. CR1938Oct:117
President David O. McKay
Many of us . . . nurse our ill will until it grows to hatred; then this hatred expresses itself in fault-finding and even slander, "whose whisper over the world's diameter as level as a cannon to its mouth, transports its poison shot." Backbiting, faultfinding are weeds of discord and thrive best in superficial minds, as fungus grows best on weakened plants.
"Bear ye one another's burdens," but do not add to those burdens by gossiping about your neighbors or by spreading slander. (Pathways to Happiness, p. 211) TLDP:467
Paul
And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
11. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. (Paul writes to his assistant Timothy, about A.D. 64) 1 Timothy 3:10-11
Paul
Being filled with all unrighteousness . . . wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, . . . debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30. Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, . . .
32. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them. (Paul writes to the Church in Rome regarding the unrighteous, about A.D. 55) Romans 1:29-30,32
Related Witnesses:
Jesus,
recorded in Matthew
recorded in Matthew
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. (Jesus teaches the people) Matthew 12:36-37
Author's Note: Gossiper: A person who perpetuates rumors, or slanders, or is double-tongued, or invents tales, etc., etc.
765. We are not to use vulgar or filthy language.
Paul
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
James
Stephen L. Richards
Elder Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, William Smith, Lyman Wight, Elder Wilford Woodruff, Elder John Taylor, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Paul
Joseph Smith
President Gordon B. Hinckley
Jesus
Joseph Smith
Paul
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Paul writes to the Saints at Ephesus in Asia Minor, about A.D. 62) Ephesians 4:29
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Included in this group of sinners are those mentioned by Paul: flatterers, double-tongued, slanderers, filthy communicators, those who are envious, spiteful, jealous, bitter, biters and devourers of each other, defilers, revilers, evil speakers, provokers, haters, inventors of evil things, stumbling blocks.
Of course, no one sees himself in this category. . . . But are not we all guilty to some degree and do not all of us need introspection, self-analysis and then repentance? (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 52) TLDP:289-90
James
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
10. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
11. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
12. Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
13. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. (James writes to his brethren in the Church) James 3:8-13
Stephen L. Richards
I cannot pass this point without importuning some of my brethren to stop swearing. No man can love God and damn him any more than he can love his wife and damn her. Think again, please. Think of the utter futility of this vulgar habit. Think of its effect on youth. Men teach boys profanity. It is not congenital with the race. It is the nature of man to love God and not to damn him. CR1938Oct:117
Elder Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, William Smith, Lyman Wight, Elder Wilford Woodruff, Elder John Taylor, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards
When you arrive on our shores, and while sailing up our rivers, you need not be surprised if your ears are saluted by the false and filthy language of wicked and designing men who are ever ready to speak evil of the things they understand not, and who would gladly blast the character of the Prophet of the Most High God, and all connected with him, with their foul anathemas, beyond anything you ever thought of. We would not dishearten you, neither would we have you ignorant of the worst that awaits the righteous.
If the Saints are not prepared to rejoice and be glad when they hear the name of the Prophet and their own name cast out as evil, as gluttonous, winebibber, friend of publicans and sinners, Beelzebub, thief, robber and murderer, they are not prepared for the gathering. The wheat and tares must grow together till the harvest; at the harvest the wheat is gathered together into the threshing floor, so with the Saints—the stakes are the threshing floor. Here they will be threshed with all sorts of difficulties, trials, afflictions and everything to mar their peace, which they can imagine, and thousands which they cannot imagine, but he that endures the threshing till all the chaff, superstition, folly and unbelief are pounded out of him, and does not suffer himself to be blown away as chaff by the foul blast of slander, but endures faithfully to the end, shall be saved. (Epistle of the Twelve to the Saints in England and elsewhere, Nov. 15, 1841) HC4:451-52
President Joseph Fielding Smith
When we join the Church and receive the priesthood, we are expected to forsake many of the ways of the world and live as becometh saints. We are no longer to dress or speak or act or even think as others too often do. Many in the world use tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor, and are involved in the use of drugs. Many profane and are vulgar and indecent, immoral and unclean in their lives, but all these things should be foreign to us. We are the saints of the Most High. We hold the holy priesthood. CR1971Apr:47
Paul
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10. And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: (Letter from prison to the Church in Colossae, Asia Minor, about A.D. 60) Colossians 3:8-10
Joseph Smith
How vain and trifling have been our spirits, our conferences, our councils, our meetings, our private as well as public conversations—too low, too mean, too vulgar, too condescending for the dignified characters of the called and chosen of God. . . . (Epistle to the Church from Liberty Jail, March 25, 1839) HC3:295-96
President Gordon B. Hinckley
Those whom we teach will overlook our youth if in our conversations in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in the purity of our lives, we reflect the Spirit of Christ. We cannot indulge in swearing. We cannot be guilty of profanity; we cannot indulge in impure thoughts, words, and acts and have the Spirit of the Lord with us. (CR 1997Apr; Converts and Young Men, Ensign, May 1997, p.47)
Related Witnesses:
Jesus,
quoted by Mormon
quoted by Mormon
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (The resurrected Jesus teaches the Nephites, A.D. 34) 3 Nephi 14:17-18
Joseph Smith,
receiving the Word of the Lord
receiving the Word of the Lord
Verily I say unto you, ye are clean, but not all; and there is none else with whom I am well pleased;
11. For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven— (Revelation of commandments to Saints in conference, Jan. 2, 1831) D&C 38:10-11
766. We shall not profane the name of God; we are to use the name of the Lord reverently.
Dallin H. Oaks
Recorded in Leviticus
Recorded in Leviticus
President Joseph F. Smith
Ezekiel
Stephen L. Richards
Recorded in Exodus
Abinadi
Joseph Smith
President Brigham Young
Joseph Smith
Jesus
Joseph Smith
Recorded in Leviticus
Dallin H. Oaks
This scripture [D&C 63:61-62] shows that we take the name of the Lord in vain when we use his name without authority. This obviously occurs when the sacred names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, are used in what is called profanity: in hateful cursings, in angry denunciations, or as marks of punctuation in common discourse. . . .
Profanity is profoundly offensive to those who worship the God whose name is desecrated. We all remember how a prophet reacted from a hospital bed when an operating room attendant stumbled and cursed in his presence. Even half-conscious, Elder [Spencer W.] Kimball "recoiled and implored: 'Please Please That is my Lord whose names you revile.'" CR1986Apr:66,68
Recorded in Leviticus
Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you, (Revelation to Moses for the children of Israel) Leviticus 22:32
Recorded in Leviticus
[N]either shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. (Revelation to Moses for the children of Israel) Leviticus 18:21
President Joseph F. Smith
I say to the fathers and mothers of Israel, and to the boys who have been born in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: I say it to men and boys throughout the world, as far as my words may go—I plead with you, I implore you not to offend the Lord, nor to offend honorable men and women, by the use of profanity. ("A Sermon on Purity," IE1903May:504) TLDP:89
Ezekiel
And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. (The word of the Lord to Israel, through the prophet Ezekiel) Ezekiel 36:23
Stephen L. Richards
I cannot pass this point without importuning some of my brethren to stop swearing. No man can love God and damn him any more than he can love his wife and damn her. Think again, please. Think of the utter futility of this vulgar habit. Think of its effect on youth. Men teach boys profanity. It is not congenital with the race. It is the nature of man to love God and not to damn him. CR1938Oct:117
Recorded in Exodus
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (The Lord reveals the third of the Ten Commandments to Moses ) Exodus 20:7
Abinadi,
quoted by Mormon
quoted by Mormon
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Abinadi teaches the Ten Commandments to the people of the wicked King Noah, about 148 B.C.) Mosiah 13:15
Joseph Smith,
receiving the Word of the Lord
receiving the Word of the Lord
Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips—
62. For behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority. (Revelation, Aug. 1831) D&C 63:61-62
President Brigham Young
Keep yourselves from evil to take the name of the Lord in vain, for I am the Lord your God, even the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob . (Revelation received at Winter Quarters, Jan. 14, 1847) D&C 136:21
Related Witnesses:
Joseph Smith
Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit; and in this there is no condemnation, and ye receive the Spirit through prayer; wherefore, without this there remaineth condemnation. (Revelation received at Kirtland, Ohio, Aug. 1831) D&C 63:64
Jesus,
quoted by Joseph Smith,
quoted by Joseph Smith,
translating Matthew
And the mysteries of the kingdom ye shall keep within yourselves; for it is not meet to give that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast ye your pearls unto swine, lest they trample them under their feet.
11. For the world cannot receive that which ye, yourselves, are not able to bear; wherefore ye shall not give your pearls unto them, lest they turn again and rend you. (Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount) JST Matthew 7:10-11
Joseph Smith
For it is not meet that the things which belong to the children of the kingdom should be given to them that are not worthy, or to dogs, or the pearls to be cast before swine. (Revelation, Feb. 4, 1831) D&C 41:6
Recorded in Leviticus
Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD. (Revelation to Moses for the children of Israel) Leviticus 22:2
Author's Note: Profane: "Irreverent toward God or holy things; speaking or spoken, acting or acted in contempt of sacred things or implying it; blasphemous; polluted; [desecrated]." (The New Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, p. 663)
767. We are not to bear false witness or accuse others falsely.
Recorded in Exodus
Recorded in Exodus
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Joseph Smith
Elder Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, William Smith, Lyman Wight, Elder Wilford Woodruff, Elder John Taylor, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards
George F. Richards
Jesus
Paul
Recorded in Exodus
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (The Lord reveals the ninth of the Ten Commandments to Moses ) Exodus 20:16
Recorded in Exodus
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. (The Lord reveals his laws for ancient Israel pertaining to integrity and godly conduct) Exodus 23:1
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
The sin of false witness is committed in many ways. Guilty ones are gossipers and bearers of tales, whisperers, those destitute of truth, liars, quarrelers, deceitful persons. Sometimes these weaknesses are thought of as minor, yet they break hearts, destroy reputations and wreck lives. . . .
Included in this group of sinners are those mentioned by Paul: flatterers, double-tongued, slanderers, filthy communicators, those who are envious, spiteful, jealous, bitter, biters and devourers of each other, defilers, revilers, evil speakers, provokers, haters, inventors of evil things, stumbling blocks.
Of course, no one sees himself in this category. It is always the other person who gossips, invents tales, slanders, and is double-tongued. But are not we all guilty to some degree and do not all of us need introspection, self-analysis and then repentance? (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 52) TLDP:289-90
Joseph Smith,
receiving the Word of the Lord
receiving the Word of the Lord
And those who swear falsely against my servants, that they might bring them into bondage and death—
19. Wo unto them; because they have offended my little ones they shall be severed from the ordinances of mine house. (Revelation received while in Liberty Jail, March 20, 1839) D&C 121:18-19
Elder Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, William Smith, Lyman Wight, Elder Wilford Woodruff, Elder John Taylor, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards
When you arrive on our shores, and while sailing up our rivers, you need not be surprised if your ears are saluted by the false and filthy language of wicked and designing men who are ever ready to speak evil of the things they understand not, and who would gladly blast the character of the Prophet of the Most High God, and all connected with him, with their foul anathemas, beyond anything you ever thought of. (Epistle of the Twelve to the Saints in abroad, Nov. 15, 1841) HC4:451
George F. Richards
Why did the Lord give the commandment?
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Exodus 20:16)
He gave it because of the subtle methods of the adversary in his effort to divide and tear asunder the love and the unity of the Lord's people To bear false witness may not appear to be a very serious offense, but its results are far-reaching and cruel, hence, the use made of it by the instigator of evil. The Lord warns us against this evil practice. Bearing false witness, talebearing, slander, gossip, scandal, fault-finding, backbiting, and evil speaking are in the same category of evil practice and are some of the means employed by Satan to disunite us as a people and destroy brotherly love, kindness, and helpfulness toward one another.
. . . . By the spirit of Satan one bears false witness and broadcasts the weakness of his neighbor. He becomes a talebearer, a character assassin. He robs his neighbor of that which greatly impoverishes his neighbor without enriching himself. He makes others miserable and unhappy and has within himself the kingdom of Satan.
. . . . We should be doubly careful not to do any injury we cannot repair. When we bear false witness, we injure at least four: ourselves, him about whom we speak, him to whom we speak, and the Lord. CR1947Apr:24-25
Jesus,
recorded in Matthew
recorded in Matthew
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, (Jesus instructs the young man who had great possessions) Matthew 19:18
Paul
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Letter to the Church in Rome, about A.D. 55) Romans 13:9
