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Kurt Francom, Executive Director of Leading Saints, shares his thoughts on the unwritten order of things—a term popularized by Elder Boyd K. Packer in a BYU devotional in October 1996. This phrase has influenced leadership culture in the Church, often being used as a trump card to justify certain practices or norms that are not explicitly documented in church handbooks.
Listen to a reading of the original devotional.
Links
Is Aspiring Wrong?
Church Doctrine, Policy, & Leadership | An Interview with Anthony Sweat
Y Religion: Defining Church Doctrine, with Michael Goodman
The Role of Doubt and Faith | An Interview With Prof. Michael Goodman
Transcript available with the video in the Zion Lab community
Highlights
Kurt explores the context of Elder Packer’s talk, highlighting the challenges of leadership in the 1990s when handbooks were not publicly accessible. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the principles behind leadership practices rather than blindly adhering to unwritten rules that may not serve the best interests of the community.
He outlines the ten unwritten orders of things mentioned by Elder Packer, assessing whether each principle is supported by the church handbook. While some of these principles align with current guidelines, others are not formally recognized, raising questions about their validity and application in modern leadership.
Kurt encourages listeners to consider the implications of using the unwritten order of things as a means of manipulation or control, and advocates for a more open dialogue about leadership best practices, urging leaders to communicate their expectations clearly rather than relying on vague traditions. He invites listeners to engage in this conversation, share their experiences, and contribute to a culture of effective leadership where the church can more-effectively draw people to Christ.
00:02:47 – Context of Elder Packer’s Talk
00:04:11 – The Unwritten Order of Things Explained
00:05:24 – Weaponization of the Unwritten Order
00:06:05 – Importance of Context in Leadership
00:07:51 – Changes in Handbook Accessibility
00:09:05 – Elder Packer’s Teaching Style
00:10:08 – Challenges in Communicating Leadership Guidelines
00:11:22 – The Role of General Authorities in Leadership
00:12:03 – Misinterpretation of the Unwritten Order
00:13:40 – Elder Packer’s Ten Unwritten Orders
00:14:01 – Analysis of Each Unwritten Order
00:19:05 – The Role of Personal Counsel in Leadership
00:20:30 – Observing Church Customs and Traditions
00:21:23 – Setting a Tone of Dignity in Meetings
00:22:06 – The Balance of Leadership and Followership
00:23:20 – Binding Nature of the Unwritten Order
00:24:03 – Current Unwritten Orders in Leadership
00:25:07 – The Tyranny of General Authority
00:26:20 – The Importance of Local Leadership Autonomy
00:27:34 – Principles vs. Prescriptions in Leadership
00:29:41 – Establishing Best Practices in Leadership
00:30:57 – Conclusion: Moving Beyond the Unwritten Order
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Regarding one of the specific items you mentioned, “only former bishopric members can become bishops, only former bishops can become stake presidents, only former stake presidents can become mission presidents”, this is explicitly NOT the case. I know three men currently serving as Mission President who never served as Stake Presidents; also, I was called as Bishop having never served on a bishopric.
I really appreciated your comments, as it has been kind of a mission for me in my service as Bishop to “root out” some of these “unwritten order of things” where they don’t make sense, specifically to try and avoid these situations where people get upset or offended because someone broke an “unwritten rule”.
In April 1993 General Conference, then Elder Russell M Nelson gave a talk titled “Honoring the Priesthood” where he discussed priesthood protocol. There is some overlap between his talk and Elder Boyd K. Packer’s October 1996 BYU devotional. This was in General Conference so it would imply endorsement of the topics covered by Elder Nelson. Note that these addresses are 32 and 29 years old respectively. The church was still primarily a US church with a strong base in UT at this time. Since then there church has grown with more members outside the US than in the US. Many of the unwritten rules deal with protocol and meeting, not doctrine or ordinances. It is expected that these could change and adapt as the church moves into the world and into other cultures.
Thank you for your episodes on “The Unwritten Order of Things”. While the first part (your summary and commentary) was good, it was more informative to hear the actual talk read in Ep.2. I was able to be inspired by Elder Packers reasoning and background for each of the “Things”.
Too much I hear in ward and stake councils of discussions trying to “work-around” items in the handbook. In such circumstances, it would be better to lead the discussion on “why would the apostles add such counsel in the handbook, and what blessings are we denying ourselves by trying to get around their counsel.”
Someone sent me this talk as I was serving a mission in ’96. I remember loving it. It did feel like we were getting in on the secret formula for being a leader. Since then, I’ve done a 180. I have come to believe there is no such thing as an “unwritten order,” since being unwritten inherently makes these rules disorderly (subject to misinterpretation by different leaders, subject to rule creep, subject to Pharisaical building of hedges about the law). Now, if a tradition or practice is brought up or proposed, I analyze it to determine if it is good or not. If not, I don’t follow it.
More important than following an unwritten order is being intentional about our decisions.
I can’t think of many traditions that I consider part of an “unwritten order.”
Some candidates may include:
Bishopric members wear ties.
and
Bishopric members wear white shirts. (While most men still wear white shirts, I see a lot more color than I used to in the congregation.)
Members should avoid cremation (perhaps this is cheating, since the church used to “not encourage” cremation, but the written policy has changed).