Elder Boyd K. Packer (deceased), (a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) wrote:
“Not long ago I was in a stake and the stake president was talking about his earlier days. He said, “You know, when I was young I was inactive and did this, and this, and this.”
Afterwards I quietly said, “President, don’t ever do that again.”
He said, “What do you mean?”
I said, “Don’t ever talk about your days of inactivity, and let me tell you why. The older people might be alright and might be lifted up by it, but sitting out there will be a teenager and they will look up and say, ‘There is the stake president. If he can get out of the way and get in that much trouble and still be brought back, why should I worry about being out of the way and in that much trouble?’ And some of them will get away and never come back. Your days of inactivity mean nothing. Those pages have been torn out of your book and thrown away. You never refer to them again. . . never voluntarily talk about it.” 22 April 1980
I recall when I was in the home of a member of the stake high counsel in the 1980’s. In front of his boys then in their teens and with humor, he spoke of his own antics as a youth. I was alarmed at the questionable seeds being planted in impressionable minds. It was his home and I didn’t have the experience or understanding how to express my concern. Sure enough, I learned years later that all his youth left the church during those years and 15 years later there was no sign of them returning. Their lives, without direction or purpose, were pretty rough. I regret that I did not speak up. k
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