I wish to take another break from my normal routine and highlight another talk from many years ago. This talk was given by President Dallin H. Oaks, current first counselor in the First Presidency of the church, in the April 1986 general conference of the church and was titled “Reverent and Clean.”

I have felt compelled to address this talk because in it, President Oaks plainly and unequivocally rebukes a sin that has unfortunately become way too tolerated in society, even among members of the church. It is the sin of swearing.

Over the last several months, I’ve felt pushed by the spirit to eliminate media from my life that involves swearing of any kind. This, of course, does not leave many options. I’ve even felt compelled to cease listening to a certain local sports radio talk show, which has been particularly difficult because I’d like to think I can listen to a sports radio talk show in Utah and not hear swearing. A major motivation for this change is the counsel of President Russell M. Nelson, president of the church, to “think celestial.” I have realized that if I am ever to qualify for the celestial kingdom, or even have the desire to live there, I need to make this life as celestial-like as possible, and that necessarily includes eliminating certain words from my life.

For the purposes of this column, I will continue referring to President Oaks with his current title even though he did not have his current calling at the time. To begin, President Oaks shared a personal anecdote.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

“Recently, our family was viewing what was supposed to be a wholesome movie on videotape,” he said. “Suddenly, one of the actors used a vulgar expression. Embarrassed, we began to smooth this over for our 10-year-old daughter. She quickly assured us that we needn’t worry because she heard worse than that every day from the boys and girls at her school.

“I am sure most (Latter-day Saint) parents have had similar experiences. The nature and extent of profanity and vulgarity in our society is a measure of its deterioration.”

President Oaks continued:

“I cannot remember when I first heard profane and vulgar expressions in common use around me. I suppose it was from adults in the barnyard or the barracks. Today, our young people hear such expressions from boys and girls in their grade schools, from actors on stage and in the movies, from popular novels and even from public officials and sports heroes. Television and videotapes bring profanity and vulgarity into our homes.

“For many in our day, the profane has become commonplace and the vulgar has become acceptable. Surely this is one fulfillment of the Book of Mormon prophecy that in the last days ‘there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth.’ (Mormon 8:31)

“The people of God have always been commanded to abstain from language that is profane or vulgar. Latter-day Saints should understand why.”

President Oaks then split his talk into addressing the two types of expressions that were the topic of his address, first addressing profane remarks and then discussing the vulgar.

Regarding profanity, President Oaks said:

“The names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, are sacred. The prophet Isaiah taught that the Lord will not suffer these names to be dishonored — ‘polluted’ as the scriptures say. (1 Nephi 20:11; Isaiah 48:11)

“In the third of the Ten Commandments, the Lord commanded ancient Israel: ‘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.’ (Exodus 20:7) This same commandment was repeated to the Book of Mormon people by the prophet Abinadi (Mosiah 13:15) and to each of us through modern prophets. (Doctrine and Covenants 136:21)

“The Doctrine and Covenants gives this example:

“‘Let all men beware how they take my name in their lips–

“‘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.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 63:61-62)

“This scripture 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.

“The names of the Father and the Son are used with authority when we reverently teach and testify of them, when we pray and when we perform the sacred ordinances of the priesthood.

“There are no more sacred or significant words in all of our language than the names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

“As we read in the Book of Mormon, after the savior appeared to the people on this continent he taught them that they must take upon them the name of Christ:

“‘For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;

“‘And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.’ (3 Nephi 27:5-6)

“He has instructed his followers to call the church in his name. (3 Nephi 27:7-8; Doctrine and Covenants 115:4) In our time this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“The savior taught that we should begin our prayers by saying, ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.’ (3 Nephi 13:9; Luke 11:2) In the Book of Mormon, the risen Lord gave these further instructions:

“‘Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;

“‘And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.

“‘Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.’ (3 Nephi 18:19-21; 3 Nephi 27:7; John 14:13; John 15:16)

“The scriptures are replete with declarations that the name of Jesus Christ is ‘the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men.’ (Moses 6:52; Acts 4:12; 2 Nephi 25:20; 2 Nephi 31:21; Mosiah 3:17)

“The Bible has hundreds of references to the name of God, a sacred word which usually refers to God the Father, or Elohim. (Genesis; John 3:16) The ancient prophets also knew and revered the name of Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, Jesus Christ, whom the Bible usually refers to as the Lord. (Joseph Smith Translation Exodus 6:3; Abraham 1:16; Abraham 2:8; Ether 3:1-28; Isaiah 43:3)

“These names were so sacred that the children of Israel were repeatedly commanded not to profane the holy name of their God. (Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 19:12; Leviticus 20:3; Leviticus 21:6) One who blasphemed the name of the Lord was commanded to be put to death by stoning. (Leviticus 24:16)

“Cataloging the sins of his countrymen, the prophet Ezekiel said, ‘Her priests have … profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and the profane … and I am profaned among them.’ (Ezekiel 22:26; Ezekiel 36:20-23)

“Throughout the ages, the Lord has directed that ‘whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name.’ (3 Nephi 27:7) God the Father commanded that Adam and Eve and all of their descendants should be baptized ‘in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ.’ (Moses 6:52)

“At the conclusion of his ministry, the risen Lord identified signs that would follow those who believed (Mark 16:17-18):

“‘In my name they shall do many wonderful works;

“‘In my name they shall cast out devils;

“‘In my name they shall heal the sick;

“‘In my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:66-69)

“When Peter healed the lame beggar, he spoke these words: ‘Such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.’ (Acts 3:6)

“When the names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, are used with reverence and authority, they invoke a power beyond what mortal man can comprehend.

“It should be obvious to every believer that these mighty names — by which miracles are wrought, by which the world was formed, through which man was created, and by which we can be saved — are holy and must be treated with the utmost reverence. As we read in modern revelation, ‘Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 63:64)

“So it is that the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God is called the Melchizedek Priesthood ‘out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name.'” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:3-4)

If the names of God the Father and Jesus Christ, when reverently used with authority, “invoke a power beyond what mortal man can comprehend,” how disappointed must they both be when their names are casually used without authority. How disheartened they must be when names that have such indescribable power to bless us are treated as common words as if they have no meaning at all.

We should not be surprised that with names that are so sacred and bring so much power, Satan would desire to tempt us to use them irreverently.

President Oaks continued:

“The desire and work of Satan is to mislead and corrupt. He seeks to frustrate the gospel plan by which God has provided the opportunity of eternal life for his children.

“Satan seeks to discredit the sacred names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, the names through which their work is done. He succeeds in a measure whenever he is able to influence any man or woman, boy or girl, to make holy names common and to associate them with coarse thoughts and evil acts. Those who use sacred names in vain are, by that act, promoters of Satan’s purposes.”

Quoting a former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and scriptures, President Oaks highlighted even more the importance of being careful about how we use the names of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

“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.” (“Improvement Era,” May 1953, Page 320)

“The words we speak are important. The savior taught that men will be held to account for ‘every idle word’ in the day of judgment. ‘For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matthew 12:36-37) He also said, ‘That which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matthew 15:11)

“Truly, as the apostle James taught, ‘The tongue is a fire, … an unruly evil’ that can defile the whole body. (James 3:6, 8)

“Profanity also takes its toll on the one who uses it. As we read in Proverbs, ‘A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.’ (Proverbs 15:4) The spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost, testifies of God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ. (2 Nephi 31:18) When those names are dishonored, that spirit, which ‘doth not dwell in unholy temples,’ (Helaman 4:24) is offended and withdraws. For this reason, those who profane the name of God inevitably relinquish the companionship of his spirit.

“As the apostle Paul taught Timothy, in order to be ‘approved unto God,’ we must ‘shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.’ (2 Timothy 2:15-16) Profanity leads to more ungodliness because the spirit of the Lord withdraws and the profane are left without guidance.”

I don’t think that last part is thought of nearly enough when people justify cursing. Do they realize that by speaking the way they do they necessarily make it impossible to feel the spirit? What happens when someone doesn’t have the spirit? Logically, more ungodliness is the answer because they are left without the guidance of the spirit. The Book of Mormon teaches us about how the Nephites fared when they were left to their own strength to fight the Lamanites, and it wasn’t pretty.

“And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands.” (Helaman 4:13)

Do we want to be left to our own strength in our battles against Satan? I should hope not.

To this point, President Oaks’ remarks were focused on how we should use God’s name. But just as profanity can cause the spirit of the Lord to withdraw, so can vulgar and crude expressions. Transitioning his remarks, President Oaks said:

“Vulgar and crude expressions are also offensive to the spirit of the Lord.

“The apostle James taught that followers of Christ should be ‘slow to speak, slow to wrath,’ and should ‘lay apart all filthiness.’ (James 1:19, 21) In the Bible, filthiness is a term associated with sexual sin and with lewd language. (Ezekiel 16:36; Ezekiel 24:13; Ephesians 5:3-4) Thus, Paul was surely condemning vulgarity when he wrote the Colossians, ‘Also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.’ (Colossians 3:8)

“These biblical condemnations of vulgarity are needed in our day.

“Indecent and vulgar expressions pollute the air around us. Relations that are sacred between husband and wife are branded with coarse expressions that degrade what is intimate in marriage and make commonplace what is forbidden outside it. Moral sins that should be unspeakable are in the common vernacular. Human conduct plunging downward from the merely immodest to the utterly revolting is written on the walls and shouted in the streets.”

And in our time, splattered all over social media.

“Twentieth-century men and women of sensitivity can easily understand how Lot, a fugitive from the actions and speech of Sodom and Gomorrah, could have been ‘vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked,'” (2 Peter 2:7) President Oaks said.

“How soberly we must regard the Book of Mormon teachings that ‘there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.’ (1 Nephi 15:34; Alma 7:21)

Speaking bluntly, President Oaks continued:

“Profane and vulgar expressions are public evidence of a speaker’s ignorance, inadequacy or immaturity.

“A speaker who profanes must be ignorant or indifferent to God’s stern command that his name must be treated with reverence and not used in vain.

“A speaker who mouths profanity or vulgarity to punctuate or emphasize speech confesses inadequacy in his or her own language skills. Properly used, modern languages require no such artificial boosters.

“A speaker who employs profanity or vulgarity to catch someone’s attention with shock effect engages in a babyish device that is inexcusable as juvenile or adult behavior. Such language is morally bankrupt. It is also progressively self-defeating, since shock diminishes with familiarity and the user can only maintain its effect by escalating its excess.”

These are words I’m convinced we all know are true, even by those who fight against them by disregarding them.

Continued President Oaks:

“Members of the church, young or old, should never allow profane or vulgar words to pass their lips. The language we use projects the images of our hearts, and our hearts should be pure. As the savior taught:

“‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

“‘A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.’ (Matthew 12:34-35)

“The Book of Mormon teaches us that when we are brought before the judgment bar of God ‘our words will condemn us … and our thoughts will also condemn us.’ (Alma 12:14) Let us recognize profanity and vulgarity for what they are. They are sins that separate us from God and cripple our spiritual defenses by causing the Holy Ghost to withdraw from us.”

I think of all the excuses that are used to justify swearing and I’m led to ask, is swearing really so important that it’s worth being separated from God, having your spiritual defenses crippled and causing the Holy Ghost to withdraw from you? In what situation is swearing worth that? I can’t think of one.

“We should abstain and we should teach our children to abstain from all such expressions,” President Oaks continued.

“We can also encourage our associates to do likewise. Where we have the courage to make a friendly request, like Elder Kimball, we will often receive a respectful and cooperative reply. Our married daughter who lives in Illinois had such an experience. As she took her turn carpooling the 12-year-olds home from the soccer game, her noisy passengers filled the air with profanity. Firmly, but with good humor, she told the boys, ‘In our family we only use that name when we worship, so we ask you, please don’t say that name disrespectfully in our car.’ The boys immediately complied, and, what is even more surprising, most of them still remembered the next time it was her turn to drive.

“We obviously cannot control all that goes on in our presence. Modern revelation suggests one alternative for those who would be clean: ‘Go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 38:42) Sometimes we can remove ourselves from language that is profane or vulgar. If this is not possible, we can at least register an objection so that others cannot conclude that our silence means approval or acquiescence.”

That last phrase is why I have chosen to write about this topic. I notice far too many people willing to tolerate, and even justify and celebrate, the profane and vulgar. I refuse to be one of those people, and I refuse to pretend that it has to be that way. We can be better. We should be better. We need to be better.

President Oaks concluded by saying:

“Our 13th article of faith commits us to seek after things that are ‘virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.’ The language of Latter-day Saints should be reverent and clean. We understand the eternal requirement of cleanliness, and we understand the sacred significance of the names of the Father and the Son.

“I testify of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, and pray that we may be more faithful in honoring their holy names. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

To close, I would like to highlight a couple more quotes. Brian K. Ashton, president of BYU-Pathway Worldwide, recently gave a speech at Ensign College where he, referencing President Nelson’s most recent general conference address, discussed preparation for the second coming. His comments are applicable to this topic. He said:

“Brothers and sisters, we have a choice. We can live as the world does and experience all the challenges and heartaches that the world will experience as we get closer to the second coming. Or you and I can choose to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. We can obtain his power, comfort and guidance, and, in so doing, take advantage of the blessings and compensatory help that will be available to the faithful in the lead up to the Lord’s return. I, for one, want to be on the savior’s side.”

Ashton then talked about how we obtain blessings by mentioning the scriptures and the teachings of the Lord “through his inspired leaders at general conference.” He quoted Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who in this past general conference said:

“In the end, burying our weapons of rebellion against God simply means yielding to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, putting off the natural man and becoming ‘a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.’ (Mosiah 3:19) It means putting the first commandment first in our lives. It means letting God prevail. If our love of God and our determination to serve him with all our might, mind and strength become the touchstone by which we judge all things and make all our decisions, we will have buried our weapons of rebellion.”

Ashton concluded his remarks by saying:

“There will be difficult challenges ahead, and we will have to face some hardships. However, God will guide us, strengthen and protect us as we do what he has commanded. With respect to the calamities and difficulties of the last days, the Lord has promised … ‘Zion shall escape if she observe to do all things whatsoever I have commanded her.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 97:25) Thus, even as all things are in commotion around us and men’s and women’s hearts are failing, (Doctrine and Covenants 45:26-27) ‘the righteous need not fear.'” (1 Nephi 22:17)

In President Nelson’s latest general conference talk, he said, “Now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the second coming of our Lord and savior, Jesus the Christ. (Alma 34:32) Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority.”

The words we use and tolerate say a lot about how we are choosing to prepare.

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rbcomer8388 and on X at @rbcomer8388.